Call for clarity over nurse staffing of ‘GP walk-in clinics’

A ‘detailed workforce plan’ must confirm how nursing staff will be recruited to fill existing vacancy gaps and meet capacity under plans for new ‘GP walk-in’ clinics in Scotland, the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has said.

At the Scottish National Party (SNP) conference this week, First Minister John Swinney announced the launch of a network of walk-in GP services staffed by nurses and GPs as part of a move to ‘break from the status quo’.

Mr Swinney said appointments at the clinics would operate seven days a week from noon until 8pm and will deliver one million more appointments across the country.

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He told delegates that the walk-in GP scheme would begin at 15 sites then expand across Scotland.

‘The SNP government will open a nationwide network of walk-in GP services based in your community, on your local high street, near your child’s school or close to your workplace. They will break from the status quo,’ Mr Swinney said.

‘That means more people can go after work when it fits with their lives. To make that even easier, they’ll be open seven days a week.’

More progress is needed

Colin Poolman, RCN Scotland executive director, said the ‘devil will be in the detail’.

‘What sounds good from the platform of a party-political conference will require in-depth planning to have any chance of success,’ he warned.

‘We need to see a detailed workforce plan on how to recruit enough staff both to fill the current gaps and the extra capacity required to provide these new clinics.’

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Mr Poolman added that the role of a general practice nurse (GPN) needs to be made ‘more attractive’ to recruit and retain nursing staff.

‘Paying them the same as NHS counterparts, for example, is a simple way to begin to achieve this,’ he said.

Mr Poolman pointed to issues around ‘not all employers’ passing on full annual pay rises to GPNs. ‘We need to see much greater consistency,’ he said.

‘We need to see a detailed workforce plan on how to recruit enough staff both to fill the current gaps and the extra capacity required to provide these new clinics,’ he added.

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Mr Poolman also pointed to an Audit Scotland report published earlier this year which highlighted how the expansion of wider primary care teams to support general practice ‘had been slower than planned’.

The report found competing priorities between practices which can reduce the amount of time patients have to focus on priorities including supporting patients with long-term conditions.