Survey of minor surgery in general practice in the west of Scotland.

Since April 1990 certain minor surgical procedures have attracted an item-of-service payment for general practitioners (GPs). A postal survey was undertaken to obtain information about minor surgery in general practice in the West of Scotland and to find out whether further postgraduate education is required in this field. From a random stratified sample of 356 GPs, 311 (87.4 per cent) responded. Practitioners on health board minor surgery lists have increased minor surgery activity since April 1990; they prefer to perform the less technically demanding and time-consuming procedures on the eligible list. It is concluded that there is scope for increasing postgraduate education in minor surgery for GPs.