Out of hours cover in Scotland is unsustainable, audit finds

The present system of out of hours cover for primary care services in Scotland seems unsustainable and will need to change, a review of the service says.

The report, from Scotland's public spending watchdog, Audit Scotland, says that the country's health service has coped with the major challenge in 2004 of 95% of its GPs opting out of providing out of hours cover. But the number of GPs willing to continue providing this cover in return for payment has fallen from 1696 in 2004-5 to 1440 in 2006-7, it says, putting …