Scottish general practitioners' willingness to take part in a post-retirement retention scheme: questionnaire survey

Concern is growing about a crisis in recruitment and retention in general practice in the United Kingdom. 1 Although national statistics for Scotland show continued increases in the number of unrestricted general practitioner principals, the trend is slowing. More worryingly the numbers show a decrease in full time practitioners every year for the past 10 years. 2 Large increases in the numbers of female doctors, who are more likely to have reduced working commitments, add to the crisis at a time when the demand for general practitioners is rising.