Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, has visited Prestonpans Group Practice alongside Martin Whitfield MSP to discuss the issues facing the surgery.

The conversation focussed on the loss in funding to the Practice which was raised by practice GPs earlier this year and continues to be an ongoing concern for the Practice.

The Cabinet Secretary agreed to discuss these funding cuts with NHS Lothian and praised the Practice for their exceptional standards of care.

Following the meeting, Martin Whitfield MSP said:

“It is essential that GP Partners are able to make the decisions that are right for their communities, and the doctors at Prestonpans Group Practice have been serving their community incredibly well.

“The funding cuts they are facing, alongside the drastic hike in facility management charges have led to insurmountable financial pressure for the Practice that is quite frankly unacceptable.

“Primary care should be an absolute priority for our government and for NHS Lothian. I look forward to hearing what progress has been made towards supporting the ongoing provision of exemplary primary care from the Cabinet Secretary in two weeks’ time.”

A spokesperson for Prestonpans group practice said:

“For many years our team have been providing a highly cost effective service.  We have worked hard to provide continuity of care and good access, which we believe are crucial to decreasing health inequalities. 

“Our recent survey has shown that many of our patients would find it difficult to travel to access same day GP appointments, and that a large majority of our patients value the continuity of care we offer. 

“We are hopeful that following our meeting with Neil Gray a solution can be found to mitigate the loss of our funding for same day appointments and increased premises fees, and we will be able to continue to provide a high quality service to our community.”