The Scottish Government has announced an initial additional investment of £15 million for General Practice.

The money will be used to ease recruitment pressures and boost capacity, as well as support workforce retention and recruitment, build service capacity and support the day-to-day running of GP services.

Health secretary Neil Gray said: “We have been listening carefully to the views of Scotland’s GPs and as a result, I am pleased to confirm an initial additional investment of £15 million for the current financial year.

“This new funding will help support capacity and ensure GPs and services in the community have the resources they need for their essential role in our health system. We remain in negotiations with the sector on the provision of further support in the future, but this initial instalment demonstrates this Government’s commitment to supporting primary care and alleviating current pressures on the system.

We want to make it easier for people to see their GP and to achieve this we are working towards ensuring a greater proportion of new NHS funding goes to primary and community care. We have already increased investment in general practice by over £100 million in the last two years to meet recommended pay increases and to support practices with sustainability.”