9 hours ago
John Swinney to visit GP surgery taking part in ‘family wellbeing' project
First Minister John Swinney will visit a GP practice in one of the most deprived parts of Glasgow which is taking part in a project to improve family wellbeing by making it easier to access support services.
Oakwood Medical Practice in Easterhouse is one of 12 in deprived areas across Glasgow taking part in the Whole Family Support in General Practice project, which takes a preventative approach to family wellbeing.
It uses GP appointments to identify wider support needed to help families in poverty and at risk of poor health outcomes.
Mr Swinney will visit on Monday, and hailed the 'collaborative, preventative work' which has received a combined £3.5 million from the Scottish Government since 2023.
Each of the practices has a family wellbeing worker who can provide advice on the right kinds of support and the partner service best placed to help.
The project also supports outreach work with families who might benefit from further engagement with primary care services to address complex health needs.
The three-year project is led by Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership, supported by more than £1.5 million in Scottish Government funding for 2025-26.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Mr Swinney said: 'Scotland's GP practices are right at the heart of our communities where they help local people and their families on a daily basis. We recognise them as trusted and established services providing crucial medical advice and care.
'It is precisely this trust that means GP surgeries can be places where people start to get a wider variety of help that will allow them to overcome the challenges of everyday life, tackle poverty and address further risks to their health and wellbeing.
'Eradicating child poverty and improving public services are two of my main priorities as First Minister. Along with economic growth and tackling the climate emergency, they are the key areas where I want to see delivery of real improvements.
'I've spoken often about how these priorities don't exist in isolation – there will be lots of different connections between them.
'The Whole Family Support In General Practice project is exactly the sort of work I had in mind – collaborative, preventative work that will deliver clear benefits for people in Scotland.'
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