Beattie Calls for GPs Under NHS Control

0:00It's April 23rd. From your city to your ears, this is Edinburgh News today, powered by AI. I'm Corey, with the story. Former STF MSP Colin Beatty, now running for the new Mid-Lothian Northseed, called for GPs to come under full NHS control. He slammed the current setup as Archaic, with hundreds of millions of pounds handed over yearly, but zero accountability on spending. This came up at a packed election hustings in Dalkeef. Beatty traced the issues back to 1948, when the NHS launched and family doctors got independent contractor status. That leds practices run outside NHS oversight, no accounts required. He backed ditching the 8 a.m. phone frenzy for appointments, calling it a total lottery. The crowd grilled all five candidates, plus the Scottish Greens list rep, on fixing GP access. Conservatives, Phil Dogart, pushed raising NHS GP funding to 12% over the next Parliament. Labour's Caitlin Stott said, snagging slots feels like chasing the Holy Grail, while Lib Dems

1:02and Reform UK focused on perks to attract more doctors. Greens, Joe Phillips stressed GPs as NHS frontline heroes, pledging one per every 1000 patients in their manifesto. The 90 minute event run by Mid-Lothian View also hit education rep and funding plans. The Scotland's Parliament vote hits May 7th with results the next day. These NHS gripes show what's firing of voters in the tight race.