Locations of 15 GP walk-in clinics to 'cut 8am rush' revealed

The locations of 15 new walk-in GP clinics have been announced by Scotland's first minister.

John Swinney said the centres would ease pressures on family doctors and tackle the so-called "8am rush" for appointments.

The first walk-in centre opened in Wester Hailes, Edinburgh on 11 February, with another 12 due to open by the end of the summer.

GPs have questioned whether the new facilities will make a difference, and whether they are the best use of resources.

The new centres will be open seven days per week, mostly between 12:00 and 20:00.

Two more walk-in services will open in March - Lochee inDundeeand on the isle of Benbecula, which will be open from 09:00 to 17:30.

Lerwick, Stranraer and Hawick will have new clinics in April.

Seven more walk-in clinics are expected to open between May and the end of summer - in Invergordon, Aberdeen, Cardonald in Glasgow, Dunoon, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Sauchie in Clackmannanshire.

High street or former retail sites in East Ayrshire, Clydesdale, and central Fife will be used for walk-in centres in phase two by 2027.

Swinney initially announced plans to establish the new clinics in his speech to the SNP conference last October.

However, the Royal College of General Practitioners has questioned whether walk-in centres would make a significant impact and said they did not represent the best use of resources.

The centres should provide more than a million more GP and nurse appointments, the first minister said.

The units will provide assessment and treatment for people with urgent but non-emergency medical problems, where patients need to be seen the same day but do not require hospital care.

During a visit to Grantfield Vaccination Centre in Lerwick, where two new staff will be employed at the walk-in clinic from April, Swinney said he was pleased that many of the centres would be "up and running in a matter of weeks".

"With centres open 12-8pm, seven days a week, and based in easily accessible locations in our communities across the country, this is part of a package addressing the 8am rush that has frustrated so many of us - easing capacity pressures on family doctors," he said.

"By establishing a series of walk-in clinics we can ensure people are seen by a clinician at a time that works for them."

Planned opening dates for GP walk-in centres

• Lochee GP Practice, Dundee - 2 March 2026
• Benbecula - March
• Stranraer - 14 April 2026
• Grantfield Vaccination Centre, Lerwick – April
• Hawick Community Hospital – April
• Invergordon – May
• Aberdeen City – May
• Cardonald, Glasgow – June
• Dunoon – June
• Moray - Summer
• Aberdeenshire – Summer
• Sauchie, Alloa - Summer

Phase Two

• East Ayrshire
• Clydesdale
• Central Fife

Meanwhile the latest monthly figures on NHS waiting times show that while about 780,000 patients - one in nine Scots - are waiting for a new outpatient, inpatient or day case appointment, the number of waits over a year have continued to drop.

The data shows long waits for outpatient, inpatient and day case procedures have fallen every month since July.

Backlogs in planned care increased during the Covid pandemic.

However, it was hoped that waits exceeding two years and subsequently one year would be eradicated in most specialities by September 2024.

None of those targets were met, and the Scottish government made a new pledge in March 2025 to eradicate waits of over a year for certain appointments or procedures.

Scottish Conservative health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said the backlog remained "staggeringly high".

"The SNP will paint a positive picture, but the reality is that almost 800,000 Scots are still stuck on an NHS waiting list on their watch," he said.