GPs ‘should perform minor surgery’ to cut waiting lists

GPs should be empowered to perform minor surgery to help the thousands of Scottish patients who are waiting years for treatment, one of the country’s leading family doctors has said.

Despite pledges by SNP ministers to tackle the backlog of patients waiting for care, the latest data shows more than 10,000 Scots have been waiting for at least two years for treatment — 100 times higher than the equivalent figure in England.

Doctors have suggested that GPs could perform more services within local surgeries, removing the need for a hospital referral and cutting down waiting times.

Minor treatments which GPs could perform include cutting out skin lesions and cryotherapy (which includes freezing skin lesions with liquid nitrogen), contraceptive coil fittings and joint injections, it has been suggested.

Dr Chris Williams, deputy chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, said that the Scottish government’s announcement of £13.6 million in extra funding this financial year for general practice “should allow some practices to offer these services should they choose to do so”.

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Source: The Times, 11 December 2024