The Scottish government has named 15 places around Scotland earmarked for new walk-in GP services. The sites for 12 centrally funded centres providing same‑day assessment for minor illness and urgent care needs have been identified, with three more planned to open within the year. However, doctors are questioning whether the £36 million cost of the pilot could be better spent.

The first no-appointment service opened its doors at the Wester Hailes Healthy Living Centre three weeks ago. The next will be in Dundee’s Lochee from next Monday.

The government says centres will be GP-led with a mix of Advanced Nurse Practitioners and other health professionals seeing patients.

The announcement of the list of places was made by the First Minister rather than the Health Secretary.

On a visit to the planned site for the centre in Lerwick, Shetland, John Swinney MSP repeated that the programme aims to address “the 8am rush that has frustrated so many of us” and ease capacity pressures:

“By establishing a series of walk-in clinics,” he said, “we can ensure people are seen by a clinician at a time that works for them. Our programme will help us deliver over one million additional GP and nurse appointments.

“This complements our £531 million landmark investment in core general practice. With GP numbers up, long waits down and new walk-in GP clinics being tested across Scotland, it is clear we are making real progress in our NHS and I am determined to continue driving forward improvements.”

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) in Scotland says the government is adopting a model that, because it relies on locum staff, is more costly to run than in-hours GP practices and, unlike GP practices offering appointments, will often be underused.

RCGP Scotland Chair, Dr Chris Provan says ministers should be willing to run objective assessments of the performance of the new centres from the start – and close the programme if it’s not working:

"Walk‑in GP services were piloted and thoroughly evaluated in England in the early 2000s. Most have since closed, and those that remain have largely been reconfigured as urgent treatment centres.”

Dr Provan adds:

“It is unclear how the pilot sites will deliver the Scottish government’s commitment of one million appointments per year. Even if they did, this would represent only a marginal increase when set against the more than 700,000 direct patient contacts GPs provide every week.

“If, as expected, the pilots do not significantly ease pressure on core GP services, any useful learning should certainly be adopted, but the centres should then be closed. Redirecting the £36 million investment to core general practice would be more beneficial for patients."

Fragmenting care

The BMA in Scotland says walk-in services may make little difference – and risk undermining the continuity of care offered to patients by their own GP practices.

Dr Al Miles, deputy chair of the BMA Scottish GP committee, says they may not be the solution government is hoping for:

“General practice in Scotland is hugely stretched and we recognise patients can currently face a struggle to access services in a timely way. However, despite the headlines, it is highly doubtful the introduction of these walk-in centres will have a significant impact on improving access or ending the ‘8am rush’ for appointments.

“We know from walk-in centres used elsewhere in the UK there is evidence of poor value for money and no convincing evidence they reduce pressure on GP practices, out of hours services, or emergency departments.

“Walk-in centres offer a fraction of the services of a standard GP surgery, at greatly increased cost. The model also risks fragmentation of services, when ongoing care from a doctor who knows them is an important concern for many patients.

“We cannot afford to see essential and limited resources lost into unproven pilot schemes and there must be an ongoing and rigorous assessment of this project. The funding would be far better targeted at existing GP services, and this is where it must be directed if the centres are found not to offer value for money, as is heavily predicted by existing evidence.”

The sites identified for walk in centres are in:

• Lochee GP Practice, Dundee, NHS Tayside, opening on 2 March
• Benbecula, NHS Western Isles, in March
• Stranraer, NHS Dumfries and Galloway on 14 April 2026
• Lerwick, NHS Shetland in April
• Hawick, NHS Borders in April
• Invergordon, NHS Highland in May
• Aberdeen City, NHS Grampian in May
• Cardonald, Glasgow, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in June
• Dunoon, NHS Highland in June.

Centres due to open in the summer will be in Moray, Aberdeenshire and at Sauchie, Alloa

Three other regions are due to get centres during ‘phase two’ of the rollout by the end of this year and into next are in East Ayrshire, Clydesdale and Central Fife.

 

Read more: Two thirds of doctors experiencing burnout; Meaningful change promised on medical workforce; Call for local lung diagnostic hubs; New directions to NHS on staffing and deficits

Sign up to our bulletin for key health & social care updates straight to your inbox.