The findings of a report criticising the way medicines are prescribed in Scotland have been described as “deeply unfair and inappropriate” by GPs.

MSPs said prescribers were ‘instinctively reaching for the prescription pad’ rather than taking the time to discuss medicines with patients in any meaningful way.

In a wide-ranging report, Holyrood’s health and sport committee called for major changes to general practice in Scotland, including a call to revise the new GP contract just two years after it was negotiated.

They went on to question the long-standing system in which surgeries are independent contractors who deal with the NHS, stating it was “not acceptable” to pay GPs public money with “no monitoring or evaluation”.

Both the British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs have criticised “disappointing” comments in the report.

Dr Andrew Buist, chair of the British Medical Association’s Scottish GP committee, said it was wrong to blame the contract.

“The GMS contract of 2018 committed to improved patient access to an expanded multidisciplinary team in the community, providing both expert advice from pharmacists and alternatives to prescribing via mental health teams, link workers and physiotherapists,” he said.

“Though progress has been slower than intended, implementation will improve both quality of prescribing and services available to patients.”

The Blairgowrie GP added: “Some of the comments in this report are very disappointing for general practice staff particularly now as we continue to work through this covid-19 pandemic and the recovery of the NHS.”

The comments were echoed by the Royal College of GPs in Scotland, with chair Dr Carey Lunan describing the conclusions as “deeply unfair and inappropriate”.

Despite GPs’ desire to focus on alternatives to prescribing medicines, particularly when it comes to patients with mental health difficulties, Dr Lunan said their options are often are “severely limited” in practice.

“Waiting times for access to mental health talking therapies are too long. Many of the voluntary and third sector agencies in the community that we have come to rely on have precarious and time-limited funding,” she said.

“Our patients, understandably, are desperate to feel better quickly. We frequently find ourselves resisting a wider cultural norm of “pills for all ills”.

“The levels of mental distress that we are seeing during the covid-19 pandemic are only set to increase and we urgently need to identify ways to support patients with the difficulties that they are experiencing, where medication is not the answer. We cannot do this alone.

“We have consistently called for action to be taken to increase the number of GPs in the workforce, which would in turn allow for GPs to move away from ten-minute appointments, providing more time for patients and clinicians to more fully explore the treatment options that are available to them.”

In the health and sport committee’s report, MSPs said they were ‘extremely disappointed that once again all roads lead to the dismal failure’ of the NHS in Scotland to implement a comprehensive IT system that would maximise the use of patient data.

On this point the medical bodies agreed, with the RCGP stating Scotland was “behind other parts of the UK” with “outdated paper prescribing systems”.

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