John Swinney has said that the opening of the first GP walk-in clinic in Glasgow shows his government “delivering” on its pledge to end the “frustrating 8am rush” for appointments.
The First Minister spoke out as he visited the new clinic in Cardonald as it opened to patients on Monday.
It is the ninth such facility to be established by the Scottish Government as part of its efforts to improve NHS care and reduce waiting times for patients – with Mr Swinney promising his government will open another two walk-in clinics in its first 100 days in office.
It comes as the government plans to have 30 GP walk0-in clinics established across Scotland by the end of this year.
The clinics are open seven days a week, from 12 noon to 8pm, and allow people to see either a GP or advanced nurse practitioner – depending on their need – without having an appointment.
Care can also be given to those with no fixed address and those who are homeless.
Speaking as he visited the latest centre on Monday, Mr Swinney said: “I promised that my government would end the frustrating ‘8am rush’ for GP appointments – and we are delivering on that commitment.
“Patients across the country are already benefiting from this pilot, which enables access to urgent, same-day care at new GP-led walk-in services – with Glasgow the latest service to open its doors.”
He added: “Walk-in services will help us bridge between General Practice and urgent care – offering patients with urgent health concerns another way to be seen and treated, on the day and closer to home.
“Existing GP services will continue to provide their patients with all general medical services.”
The Scottish Government is “on track” to open another at least another two additional walk-in centres – and also to set out the next phase of expansion of the scheme – within its first 100 days, Mr Swinney added.
He said: “This year we will expand access to a further 14 locations, taking the total to 30 walk-in clinics across the country. That is a Scottish Government delivering for the people of Scotland.”
Jann Gardner, the chief executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGCC) said the opening of the GP walk-in clinic in Cardonald was “an important step in improving access to care for local residents”.
She added that the health board was “committed to learning from the walk in clinic as we continue to modernise healthcare”.
Ms Gardner said: “We will continue to develop services that are responsive to the needs of our communities.”