OUT of hours services across Glasgow and the west were closed more than 250 times in the last two years due to staff shortages.

A Freedom of Information request (FoI) by Conservative MSP Annie Wells revealed there were 65 separate incidents which resulted in the closure of the GP out of hours service at the flagship Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

While the Easterhouse base was shut 39 times, with Inverclyde Royal Hospital, the Greenock Health Centre and the Vale of Leven Hospital accounting for the rest of the closures.

Ms Wells claims the situation is now “critical” and has called on the SNP Government to act.

She said: “It is absolutely astonishing that GP Out of Hours Services have been closed over 250 times at NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde in the past two years.

“People living across the city and beyond should be able to access GP’s easily and at any time, it is patients who suffer, many of who will be vulnerable.

“This is a crisis engulfing our country’s largest health board and urgent action needs to be taken by the SNP Government.”

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She added: “The SNP is presiding over a GP crisis, with NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde clearly struggling to staff the Out of Hours services”.

“Local patients will be astonished at the sheer scale of the closures, and will be worried should they need out of hours care, if it will be readily available.”

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the issue was caused by a lack of GPs willing to take on the additional shifts.

A spokeswoman said said: “We want to reassure local patients that GP out of hours services in Glasgow and Clyde are available for anyone who needs to be seen urgently by a GP before their surgery re-opens.

“We have had difficulty in filling every shift across all eight GP Out of Hours emergency centres that run across the NHSGGC area due to a lack of GPs willing to work the shifts.

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“We must stress however that within GGC on every shift there are out of hours emergency GPs working and providing care to GGC patients.”

She added: “This challenge of finding GPs willing to staff the Out of Hours Rotas is not an issue unique to NHSGGC and we are continuing to review how best to deliver a sustainable GP out-of-hours service across the board area in the longer term. The review is ongoing and is part of a wider discussion on how to enhance the overall out-of-hours health and social care services for all our patients."

The Scottish Government did not respond to requests for comment as the Evening Times went to press.