Around £13 million is being allocated during the 2016/17 financial year for projects to improve access to general practice and mental health services in primary care settings in Scotland.
GP practices and NHS plus Integrated Joint Boards are being invited to bid for £9.5m of funding to test GP access projects, with five test sites already up and running in Inverclyde, Govan, Edinburgh, Tayside and Grampian.
It is the latest tranche of funding released from the three-year £85 million Primary Care Fund, which aims to support GP recruitment, retention and leadership, develop online GP services, and to build capacity and capability of the primary care workforce.
Health secretary Shona Robison said: ‘This fund will allow us to test and evaluated what works in individual communities, with a view to spreading out the most successful models of care across Scotland.’
Regarding the £3.5m funding for mental health services in primary care, she said: ‘Around 90% of mental health problems are treated in primary care settings. This funding provides local health boards, working with their partners, with a real opportunity to think differently about how local services are organised and to develop new models of care.’
