A new GP walk-in service has been hailed as a "game-changer" ahead of its opening in Ayr. First Minister John Swinney made the announcement as he opened the 11th GP walk-in service in Buckhaven, Fife.
The new service in Ayr is one of 24 more new GP-led walk-in services, bringing the number of centres planned or operational across Scotland to more than 30.
How the walk-in clinics will work
The walk-in clinics allow people to see a GP or nurse quickly without the need for an appointment, focusing on urgent, on-the-day primary care needs. Open from 12pm–8pm, seven days a week, the aim of these centres will be to help patients get the care they need while also easing pressure on GP practices and hospital A&E departments.
Ayr MSP Siobhian Brown said: "The opening of a new walk-in GP clinic in Ayr will be a total game changer for people across Ayr.
"I’ve campaigned for one to come to Ayr and I know what a difference this will make to people here to be able to access medical care at a time that suits you.
"The SNP promised to end the frustrating 8am rush for GP appointments and we are delivering on that commitment with more than 10,500 walk-in cases having been seen since February.
"While the Westminster parties talk down our NHS and oppose us doing everything we can to end the 8am rush, our GP walk-in clinics are springing up all over the country including right here in Ayr.
"That is what the leadership of John Swinney looks like with the SNP always on Scotland’s side."
Criticism from the Royal College of GPs
The scheme does, however, have its critics. Responding to the First Minister’s announcement of an expansion in the GP walk-in centre pilot, Dr Chris Provan, Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Scotland, said: "GP walk-in centres have already been extensively trialled in England and simply failed to deliver the results promised to patients who deserve high-quality care in their community.
"They did not reduce pressure on GP practices or A&E departments, and there is no reason to suggest the Scottish pilot will be any different."
Services opened and planned
Since February 2026, 11 services have opened in Aberdeen City, Benbecula, Buckhaven, Cardonald, Dunoon, Hawick, Invergordon, Lerwick, Lochee, Stranraer and Wester Hailes. More GP walk-in centres are planned to open in 2026-27 in Aberdeenshire, Alloa, Clydesdale, East Ayrshire and Moray.
