A new Scotland-only GP contract, designed and agreed between the Scottish Government and the British Medical Association, has been hailed as the biggest reform of GP services in over a decade.

The proposals are aimed at ensuring that all patients get the support they need from an extended community healthcare team – led by GPs and including nurses, physiotherapists, community mental health workers, paramedics, and pharmacists. This means GPs are able to best use their skills as expert medical generalists to spend more time with the people who need them most.

Dr Chris Mackintosh, Medical Director for South Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, who oversees primary care across Lanarkshire, has welcomed the new contract as an affirmation of Lanarkshire’s Primary Care and Mental Health Transformation programme. He said: “Our direction of travel in transforming primary care mirrors that outlined in the new national GP contract. That means Lanarkshire is best placed to deliver on the implications of the contract because we’ve already embarked on this Journey.

“Our programme focusses on ensuring that people who need to see a GP can see a GP by providing patients with access to a wider range and number of healthcare professionals, alongside better opportunities for self-care.

“We look forward to working with practices locally to achieve the aims set out in the contract.”