Many dentists and GPs in Scotland have taken early retirement since 2015 due to work pressure and disillusionment with the job, according to the Scottish Liberal Democrats.

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The party made a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Scottish Government on retirement numbers and the initial data1 provided showed that 221 dentists and 541 GPs retired before reaching their state pension age between 2015 and 2018.

However, it has since been revealed that the data supplied by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency were wrong. Nevertheless, early retirement numbers were still evident.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP said the government was presiding over a system that was leaving health professionals 'exhausted and disenchanted'.

'Hundreds of GPs and dentists have left their professions before reaching their state pension age. Many doctors are exhausted and disenchanted. At every turn, the Scottish Government has mucked up workforce planning in the health service, while years of disinvestment has piled the pressure on primary care. The number of practices reporting GP vacancies has gone through the roof.

'To keep staffing levels sustainable and make medical careers attractive they need to make sure health professionals have the resources and backup they need to get the job done.

'Scottish Liberal Democrats are clear that we need to see an end to the neglect of primary care and an agreement to embed a mental health practitioner in every surgery, ending the scandal of long waits for this treatment and reducing some of the pressure on GPs. An annual report and parliamentary debate on workforce planning would also help prevent more mistakes in workforce planning.'

A Scottish Government spokesperson told the BDJ: 'These statistics were issued by the Scottish Public Pensions Agency based on data which turned out to be wrong.

'The correct picture is that there were only 110 early retirements by General Dental Practitioners [GDPs] between 2015 and 2018 - and not 221 as stated.

'Retirement rates by GDPs in Scotland remain very low, with just 73 dentists retiring in total last year - of whom only 40 were early retirements.

'There is now a record number of dentists working in Scotland, with the total standing at 3,052 on 30 September 2018 compared to 2,261 in 2007 - an unprecedented increase of more than a third.'

The FOI details on the Scottish Government's website will be updated soon.