SCOTTISH Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie has warned of a “looming GP crisis” in Kelty, Lochore and Cardenden.

The Mid Scotland and Fife MSP said that an acute shortage of doctors was leading to delays in local residents getting appointments.

During First Minister’s Questions, Mr Rennie highlighted a recruitment warning issued by the British Medical Association (BMA) in Scotland which showed GPs are retiring early or going part time.

It comes as various reports show increasing pressures on local doctors due to shortages of GPs.

Mr Rennie said, “There’s barely a GP surgery in Kelty, Lochore, Cardenden which isn’t facing problems so the Scottish Government cannot keep its head in the sand.

“Doctors are retiring early or going part time, leading to a major shortage.

“Primary health care in Scotland is heading towards a crisis. It isn’t good enough to say that the current approach is working. The First Minister must act now and set out a plan to sort Scotland’s GP crisis,” he concluded. However, health secretary Shona Robison hit back at Mr Rennie’s claims and said, “This is just completely wrong.

“I make absolutely no apology for working extremely closely with the Royal College of General Practitioners and the BMA to ensure the GP fund makes the real difference to primary care that this type of substantial investment can deliver.

“We plan to announce exact details very soon. I hope the announcement can help build consensus around the work we need to do to tackle recruitment and retention of GPs and go on delivering the support that primary care, as an absolutely crucial part of our NHS, needs.”