I refer members to my entry in the register of interests as a practising NHS GP—I am living under the pressures that we are debating right now. I welcome the new cabinet secretary to his role, and I also welcome my new colleague, Tim Eagle, who will give his maiden speech today.

Successive SNP Governments have watched, as if caught in the headlights, as general practice struggles under sustained pressure on multiple fronts. The SNP—which is now supported by the Scottish Greens—is responsible for failing to develop and implement credible medium-to-long-term strategic plans. The last attempt, which took place three health secretaries ago, flopped before the ink was dry. Humza Yousaf’s so-called NHS recovery plan could well go down as one of the most underwhelming and poorly thought-through pamphlets in NHS history.

It is now important that we truly understand the issues that need to be tackled. We owe it to our amazing front-line staff in primary care to come up with real, workable solutions.

Allow me to run through some stats, Presiding Officer. A quarter of a million more patients are registered with Scotland’s GP practices now than were registered in 2012, but if we look back at the past 12 years, we see that the number of GP surgeries has decreased by 9 per cent. Importantly, during the same period, the number of patients aged over 65 has increased by 20 per cent. Now, an increasing number of GP practices are being forced to close their patient lists because they do not have sufficient resources to meet patient needs.

The Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland says that GPs face such unmanageable workloads that more than half of its members cite poor morale or declining mental wellbeing. As for the SNP Government’s flagship policy to recruit an additional 800 GPs by 2027, Audit Scotland says that it is not on track.

Primary care is the front door to a successful health service. A thriving general practice brings direct benefits to patients and protects the entire NHS from overload. We need to have a serious rethink about how we deliver healthcare and greatly improve access to primary care.