Campaigning for general practice in Scotland

As the professional membership body for GPs in Scotland, RCGP Scotland continues to campaign and press for action on a range of issues that matter to general practice and its patients.

Throughout the pandemic, we have worked closely with the Scottish Government and other organisations, including BMA Scotland, to ensure that the profession had what it needed to adapt and respond to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

As we look towards the recovery phase of the pandemic, we are now focusing on the needs of our GP workforce in the short, medium, and longer term. We are also working on how we can grow back greener, helping to ensure that general practice is part of the solution to the climate crisis.

As an organisation, we also continue to respond to the political environment, adding the voice of the profession to national consultations and parliamentary proceedings.

To keep up to date with our campaigning activity look out for our weekly blog posts which provide regular updates on the work of the College in Scotland.

2021 Scottish Parliamentary Election

Ahead of the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election, the College published its Scottish Parliamentary Election manifesto, which set out the priorities for general practice in Scotland over the next 5 years.

In support of the publication of our manifesto the College also hosted a virtual hustings for members and engaged with each of the major parties to reinforce the key points of the document and the needs of general practice in Scotland.

We continue to engage with MSPs across the political spectrum on our key asks from the manifesto.

Climate and sustainability

Selected by our Joint Chairs as their 3-year campaign and policy priority, Climate and Sustainability issues are a key area of ongoing work for the College.

Our Joint Chairs, Clinician Representative for Climate and Sustainability, and Faculty Climate Reps have been working together. We have produced a Climate Action Plan focusing on a number of overarching areas, including:

• Tackling prescribing and medicines wastages
• Promoting the role of general practice in achieving Net-Zero
• Supporting GPs to become greener

We continue to work closely with policymakers and stakeholders across healthcare to progress these important areas of work.

GP workforce

Bolstering the GP workforce is an area of continuing focus for RCGP Scotland.

The GP Recruitment and Retention Advisory Group (GPRRAG) is chaired by RCGP Scotland’s Deputy Chair (Policy). It brings together, on a regular basis, a range of external stakeholders. They are working on improving GP recruitment and retention, to explore existing challenges and work towards positive outcomes. 

We are currently working towards publication of a report on GP retention, which seeks to explore the problems being faced by the profession and put forward a number of recommendations to help retain our hugely valuable GP workforce. Over the coming months we will be engaging with members, policymakers and fellow health organisations on the report’s findings.

For further information and to join us in calling for action to tackle the GP workforce crisis, please get in touch with us.

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RCGP Scotland

Find out more about our policy and campaigns work in Scotland on the RCGP Scotland page.