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GP practice to be part run by social services managers

A GP practice in Scotland will become the first to be placed under the control of social services managers, alongside health managers, within two months.

Health minister Shona Robison confirmed to the Scottish Parliament yesterday on 13 January that the practice in Lochee, Dundee will be run by a partnership between NHS Tayside and Dundee City Council from March.

This partnership will review whether the practice – which operates in an area of deprivation – has the right mix of health professionals and will examine ways to ‘stabilise’ the practice, she added.

Dozens of other struggling practices in Scotland are already under the management of health board having become unsustainable under the private contractor model.

But the Lochee surgery will be the first one to have additional operational input in a formal way from social services.

Ms Robison said: ‘There is an opportunity through the Dundee community health partnership working in an integrated fashion to take on operational management of the practice, look at the possibility of a multidisciplinary workforce, and stabilise that practice.

‘It will be able to look to the future and, I hope, develop new services for the people of Lochee.’

All regions of Scotland are expected to have ‘integration joint boards’ – comprising NHS board managers and social services managers – in place by April, to ensure that health and social care services work closer together, share resources and become more efficient.