This month, I convened a meeting with NHS Lothian’s Primary Care team to relay residents’ concerns and ask what action they will take to resolve them.
Improving GP provision in South Edinburgh has been one of my longest-running campaigns. I have repeatedly raised the pressure on practices across our area and pushed for clearer plans to expand capacity as our population grows. Around 85% of Scotland’s population growth in recent years has been in Edinburgh, and that has put acute strain on already busy practices.
At the meeting, I expressed the frustration felt by you and others across South Edinburgh about practice closures, difficulties registering with a practice, waiting times for appointments and capacity issues, especially in Gilmerton. I also stressed the need for improvements to appointment booking systems and phone waiting times. The main frustration being the large number of new homes springing up and being planned without the requisite GP provision for new and existing residents.
In response, NHS Lothian confirmed the following.
- A major new GP facility is being built at the Liberton High School campus.
This is scheduled to open in mid-2026 and will have capacity for around 12,000 patients. I am hopeful that this will go some way towards easing the pressure on local practices and guarantees at least 4,000 new places.
- Gracemount Medical Practice continues to grow strongly.
Since becoming an independent partnership last year, they have registered around 2,500 new patients and plan to grow towards 12,000. NHS Lothian is supporting this expansion and helping the transition.
- Hermitage Medical Practice has increased its list sizefollowing its move to the Balfour Pavilion site, which gives it more scope to expand.
- Most GP practices now have open lists.
NHS Lothian confirmed that 114 out of 116 practices across the city are open to new patients. Anyone who needs to register with a GP should be able to do so.
- NHS Lothian is factoring in new housing pressures.
They confirmed that they are working closely with the Council to make sure new housing developments come with the community infrastructure they require, including GP and pharmacy provision. They acknowledged the particular strain this has caused in areas like Gilmerton. It is a little too late as we need this planning before people move in but, at last, we have an acknowledgment of the issue when the Scottish government has denied a problem for years.
- Work is underway to improve appointment booking and waiting times.
NHS Lothian said that new national funding for GP practices should support improvements in staffing and premises. They also expect that reducing waiting times in secondary care will ease pressure on GPs.
- Polwarth GP Practice closure.
NHS Lothian confirmed that all Polwarth patients should now have received letters informing them of the closure and advising them of their new practice.
My ongoing concerns: a new practice is still needed
While these developments are positive, they will not on their own resolve the pressures many of you continue to face. One practice in South Edinburgh still has a closed list, and too many residents struggle to get an appointment or even get through on the phone.
This is why I am continuing to call for a new GP practice in the Gilmerton area, which has seen significant housing growth. This remains essential if we are to keep up with local demand and have resilient capacity for the future.
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