Primary Care Out of Hours Survey

This publication from NHS Education for Scotland (NES) presents results from the 2025 Primary Care Out of Hours (OOH) Workforce Survey which has been designed to capture information from the Primary Care OOH services in each NHS Board area. The survey is designed to give an evidence base for workforce planning for OOH services.

The report provides information including:

• General Practitioners (GPs) and nurses working in Primary Care Out of Hours services in the past year
• Challenges and experiences in filling shifts in the past year
• Use of multi-disciplinary teams within Out of Hours

During the year ending 31 March 2025:

• The number of GPs working in Primary Care Out of Hours (OOH) services in Scotland was 1,459. The total number of hours worked was 511,496.
• For GPs working in OOH services, the mean weekly hours was 6.74 hours.
• Excluding NHS Highland, who were unable to provide data for Argyll & Bute, the number of GPs working in OOH decreased by 3.1% and the total hours worked increased by 0.6% since the year ending 31 March 2024.
• Approximately 10% of GPs working in OOH services worked approximately 43% of the total hours.
• For GPs working in OOH services, older GPs on average worked more weekly hours than younger GPs.
• The number of nurses working in OOH services was 317, working a total of 281,054 hours, a mean of 16.62 hours per week.
• Excluding NHS Highland, the number of nurses decreased by 8.5%, and the total hours decreased by 10.0% since the year ending 31 March 2024.
• Most nurses working in OOH services were Band 7 (54%).
• Healthcare Support Worker was the most common multidisciplinary team role in OOH services