Number of private GP clinics triple in Scotland
Private GP clinics in Scotland have more than tripled since the pandemic as patients have struggled to get NHS appointments.
Figures obtained by The Herald in Scotland from Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) – the regulator responsible for inspecting private clinics – show there were three private GP surgeries registered in 2019.
But it reported there are now 11 – mainly located in the Edinburgh and Glasgow areas, with one each in Stirling and Falkirk.
It said many private GPs also worked in mixed clinics alongside other healthcare professionals – such as physiotherapists or psychotherapists – but HIS said the cost of extracting this data from annual returns would exceed the £600 threshold for responding to a Freedom of Information request.
The report stated there was also a reluctance among independent healthcare companies to disclose any potentially market-sensitive intelligence on the number of GPs currently contracted with them.