EMERGENCY out-of -hours GP services are being cut from Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital as part of a contingency plan to try to improve cover.

Two services will be available in the evenings and weekends at Glasgow at Stobhill and the New Victoria hospitals at evenings and outwith the city at the Royal Alexandra hospital in Paisley. An additional evening service will be operating from Vale of Leven hospital.

The following centres – Inverclyde Royal Hospital, Greenock Health Centre, Easterhouse Health Centre, Gartnavel Royal Hospital and QEUH are to be temporarily suspended.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said the plan aims to boost service continuity “until longer term improvements’ can be implemented and will be monitoring patient flow at each site.

Like the majority of Scottish health boards, NHSGGC is battling chronic shortages of GPs willing to work after hours in part due to national changes to pensions.

Read more: Glasgow left wtih no out-of-hours cover as board battles chronic GP shortages 

It has led to centres being shut at short notice, on one night in January the city is reported to have been left with no cover.

The health board said the service changes will not affect GP home visiting services.

Read more: Glasgow doctor staffing out-of-hours services tells of 'extremely difficult' conditions 

Kerri Neylon, Primary Care Lead GP at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “A number of contributory factors mean the current out-of-hours service has become unsustainable.

“Temporary consolidation of services is the only option which will enable us to continue providing this crucial service in the immediate future.

“This formalises the ad-hoc arrangement which has increasingly become the norm in recent months and provides patients and staff with certainly and reliability.”