The Scottish Government’s walk-in clinics scheme accused of being a failed policy by GPs following reports of low attendance numbers.
Data published by Public Health Scotland revealed that only 7,000 patients have attended a GP walk-in clinic between February and June 2026, with over 2,000 patients across June alone. In contrast, GPs treat over 136,000 patients in Scotland each weekday. GPs in Scotland have expressed concern about the scheme, deeming it a failure.
Together, GPs and medical associations have asked the Scottish Government to reconsider the scheme and instead invest in core NHS services, citing the low turnout as a reason to put more investment into the NHS. The Scottish Health Secretary, Angela Constance, has offered reassurance in response to these concerns, stating that the scheme is still “in the early stages” and that she has been assured by the “developments we have made thus far”.
The walk-in clinics are a limited service, open only to patients registered with local surgeries, each one holding different criteria for which patients it will treat. GPs have stressed that the scheme is not helpful in treating patients with chronic illness.
The scheme for walk-in clinics was announced in October 2025 by Scottish First Minister John Swinney, at an SNP conference. He claimed that the scheme would help to deliver more than 1m appointments across Scotland and would be operating within a year. As of June 2026, only nine centres, out of 30 planned, have been opened.
GPs have also pointed towards England’s walk-in clinic scheme that was operated throughout the 2000s, but the clinics were soon closed or converted into alternative NHS services after reports found they did not help to relieve the load that clinics or emergency departments faced.
Dr Chris Provan, the chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, expressed frustration that the scheme was set up without the Scottish Government having first consulted GPs or medical associations. Even after the announcement of the policy and the discussions held afterwards with the Scottish Government, he felt that the advice of medical professionals was ignored. He further criticised the implementation of the scheme, stating that it has eroded the trust between the Government and the medical profession.
Despite the low turnout of patients, Angela Constance is adamant that more clinics are due to open in the coming months in the Scottish Government’s attempt to ‘end’ the 8 a.m. rush for GP appointments. She is pressing GPs and patients to give the scheme more time to be set up before a judgement can be made.
