FIFE has one of the lowest counts for GPs per head than almost anywhere in Scotland.

Figures published by Public Health Scotland last week show that the local health board has only 5.9 GPs for every 10,000 patients.

In the most up-to-date statistics, Fife GPs had more than 100 additional patients than elsewhere in Scotland in 2019.

Only health boards in Forth Vally and Lanarkshire had fewer GPs per head of population than NHS Fife, while Greater Glasgow & Clyde had a similar proportion.

Willie Rennie, the MSP for North East Fife, said that "Fife patients have nowhere left to turn" due to the shortfall in GPs, while, at the same time, A&E waiting times remain at near record levels.

The latest set of weekly statistics published by Public Health Scotland confirm that A&E waiting times for NHS Fife are at 72.9 per cent, remaining well below the target level of 95 per cent.

Mr Rennie said: "Patients in Fife have been sorely let down by successive health ministers, who haven't done enough to tackle the shortfall in GPs or get to grips with the crisis in our local healthcare services.

"Many patients in need of treatment have nowhere left to turn.

"This is not a result of the pandemic, it has been going on for years.

"One of the most common issues that people raise with me is how difficult it is to get a GP appointment, yet the Scottish Government is blithely telling people not to attend A & E either.

"Scottish ministers need to completely rethink the way they approach healthcare in communities like Fife.

"We need a broader range of services and support specialists available to GP surgeries to spread the load and to encourage healthcare professionals to take up roles in rural communities, alongside a full package of short- and long-term support measures that were promised by the SNP in the election but never delivered."

The General Practice workplace survey for 2019 was due to be published originally in 2020, however, its release was delayed due to the COVID pandemic.

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We now have a record number of GPs working in Scotland with more per head in Scotland than in the rest of the UK and remain committed to increasing the number of GPs by 800.

“The number of GPs in Fife has increased above the national average, by 7.7 per cent between 2017 and 2020 to 294. We have also invested £12.8 million since 2018 in developing primary care multi-disciplinary teams in Fife, supporting local GPs to deliver more care to patients at the right time and place with the right professional.”