RECRUITING and retaining GPs in Fife has reached "crisis" levels according to a West Fife MSP.

And there are fears for the future of a surgery in High Valleyfield with no-one to take over from a retired doctor.

Cowdenbeath MSP Alex Rowley said the situation was a "massive worry" and raised it with health secretary Shona Robison in the Scottish Parliament.

He told the Press: "In my own constituency we are one-and-a-half posts down in Rosyth, one short in Lochgelly and likewise in Benarty, and in all of these areas NHS Fife have said to me they have advertised to recruit but 'with no interest'.

"There is a similar picture in Dunfermline, in Kirkcaldy, Glenrothes and Levenmouth so I am afraid there are real difficulties in recruiting GPs across Fife and I am really worried this is a situation that can only get worse."

NHS Fife issued Mr Rowley with a 'position statement' at February 1 which contained details of 12 GP practices experiencing recruitment difficulties.

In West Fife, two partners resigned within a month at Millhill Surgery in Dunfermline and the practice "will be 14 sessions short" if it was unable to recruit, according to the statement. There had been "no response to date".

Two partners had also resigned recently at the Primrose Lane practice in Rosyth. It was 14 sessions short and had been "advertising since August 2015 with no interest".

In High Valleyfield, a full-time GP had retired and there was "no response to advert for replacement".

It added: "He will work as a locum for six months to help out but practice will be in difficulty if they cannot recruit after this period."

Mr Rowley, the Scottish Labour deputy leader, said: "The recruitment issue is in itself a massive worry but I know from the amount of constituents speaking with me that many other practices are under pressure and it can be difficult to get access to a GP."

He said staff in the health centres were doing "a tremendous job" but called for a review of GP services in Fife to determine "the services we need in our communities".

He added: “NHS Fife are doing the very best to deal with the crisis in GP shortages and I want the government to focus their attention on addressing these issues.

"I am afraid this is yet another example of the government in Edinburgh burying their heads in the sand and hoping for the best. It is simply not good enough."

Ms Robison said the government was "determined to go on supporting and sustaining Scottish general practice" and that last week's £20 million package would ease pressures on the workforce.

She added: “The difficulty in recruiting GPs is not an issue unique to Scotland but this government’s investment in primary care has seen the number of GPs increase by seven per cent.

"Scotland has the highest number of GPs per head of the population of the four UK countries.

"In December, Scotland became the first country in the UK to agree to completely abolish the existing bureaucratic and burdensome GP payments system, freeing up GPs to spend more time with patients."

Ms Robison said £13m was being invested in new ways of working and £4.75m on GP recruitment, retention, leadership and research, including £2.5m to increase the number of medical students choosing to go into GP training.

The health secretary added: "We are also expanding schemes to encourage trained GPs to return to practice in the NHS and increasing the number of training places for GPs by 33 per cent, from 300 to 400.”