New government pushes ahead with plans for 30 walk-in centres, where no appointment is needed.
A new walk-in GP clinic is due to open in Aberdeen on June 23, free for anyone to attend with no need to make an appointment – making it convenient for local people to be seen. It’s the seventh such walk-in service to open since the new Scottish government came to power in May. A further 23 such clinics are to open soon.
Photo by Julia Taubitz / Unsplash
To begin with, the clinic at the centrally located Aberdeen Health Village will open on a phased basis, run by GPs, advanced nurse practitioners and nurses. It will offer same-day care and treatment for minor illnesses and conditions.
Walk-in centres of this type have already opened in Edinburgh, Dundee, Western Isles, Stranraer, Lerwick and Hawick.
These are part of the £36m phase one programme, which will also see walk-in clinics open in Invergordon, Dunoon, Cardonald, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Sachie. In phase two, there will be clinics in East Ayreshire, Clydesdale and Central Fife. A process to identify a further 14 sites, bringing the total to 30, is already under way and will be announced shortly.
Emma King, Primary Care Lead for Aberdeen City Health & Social Care Partnership, says: ‘We are pleased to welcome the Cabinet Secretary to the Aberdeen GP walk-in centre as we make the final preparations for opening to the public later this month. We are looking forward to getting to work and testing this new approach to improving access to same-day care.’
Health Secretary Angela Constance MSP adds: ‘The new walk-in centre in the heart of Aberdeen city centre will be an asset to local health services in the area and plans are progressing at pace to welcome patients from the June 23. We know that accessing GP services on the day, when you need urgent care, can be a source of frustration. That’s why we have opened GP-led walk-in services across the country to support with on the day care to address the ‘8am rush’ and relieve pressure on GP surgeries – freeing up capacity to focus on complex and long-term care.
‘We value the key role and expertise that GPs have to play in people’s care. We are underpinning that by increasing investment in general practice by £531m over three years to significantly boost recruitment from this year, helping to deliver the capacity needed to improve services for patients.’
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