Golden handshakes are failing to cure the rural GP crisis, according to the Scottish health secretary.
Alex Neil said other factors are often behind why doctors refuse to take up posts in areas like Lochaber where the health service is being forced to pay out large amounts of money for locums to cover vacant positions.
He said the challenge in recruiting rural GPs was not about financial incentives, because they had been tried.
“The key issue is work-life balance. Very often it is not the GP’s concern about moving to a rural area but family pressure that prevents a GP from moving to or staying in a rural area,” he said.
“I am particularly conscious of the issue in areas such as Lochaber, in the Highlands, where we have done everything possible to recruit GPs.
“I cannot force GPs to go and live and work permanently in a particular location.”
Mr Neil said a “bespoke recruitment exercise” will be in place this summer to attract more GPs.
The government was attempting to address the shortage in other ways, such as extending tele-health facilities, he said. For example, people in Kilchoan have direct access to consultancy services at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Aberdeenshire West SNP MSP Dennis Robertson said several GPs in his constituency were concerned about their workload due to the ageing population and shortage of medical students coming through the system.
Mr Neil said while recruitment for GP training was high, he had recently agreed with Education Secretary Mike Russell to increase the number of trainees and to specifically encourage people in rural areas to enrol in medical schools.
“There is clear international evidence that people who come from rural areas tend to go back to those areas to live and work once their training is complete,” he said.