NHS Highland has welcomed the Scottish Government announcement that two of the planned 16 GP walk-in clinics will be based within the NHS Highland area, one in Invergordon and one in Cowal, Dunoon.
GP walk-ins will complement traditional General Practices and urgent care – bridging the gap between the two – to offer patients the opportunity to be assessed at clinics led by GPs and staffed by highly skilled, multidisciplinary teams.
NHS Highland submitted a bid for County Community Hospital, Invergordon to be an Extended Access pilot as part of the Scottish Government Walk-in Programme. The pilot sites are to support accessibility to GP services and will be set up to test new ways of working.
Paul Treon, Clinical Director for Primary Care in NHS Highland, said: “Our proposal is to implement a same-day urgent care access model. This would complement the co-located GP Practice, Minor Injuries Unit and Out of Hours Service by creating additional capacity to deliver on the day/urgent treatment.
“We have set an ambitious timescale to get the service mobilised by May 2026. We will establish a dedicated project team to lead and deliver on this exciting development. Members of the Practice team will be central in supporting implementation.”
Eilidh Gallagher, Argyll and Bute Health and Social Care Partnership Head of Primary Care, said: “We are pleased to announce that we have secured funding from the Scottish Government to initiate a new GP walk-in service for Cowal. This 12-month pilot program, located at Cowal Community Hospital, will offer patients greater flexibility in accessing primary care services. It aims to ensure that individuals receive appropriate care from the right clinician at the right time. Moreover, this service will help alleviate pressure on GP practices, enabling them to focus on more complex and ongoing health needs, while simultaneously improving our integrated care pathways and promoting community health and wellbeing."