GP leaders in Scotland have demanded an urgent meeting with Scottish health minister Sam Galbraith to raise concerns about primary care trust appointments.

The British Medical Association's Scottish GP committee chair Kenneth Harden has written to Mr Galbraith, outlining fears that primary care trusts appear to be 'simply rebadged community trusts'.

'Almost all the chief executives appointed have previously been community trust chief executives, ' he said.

'It is vital that the primary care trusts are seen as dynamic new organisations.'

Primary care trusts are being set up to implement the Designed to Care health white paper.

The Scottish Office has already come under fire for its handling chief executive appointments to primary care trusts: three posts were left unfilled by the expected deadline last month and two posts are still vacant.

A Scottish Office spokesperson said Mr Galbraith would respond as soon as he had received Dr Harden's letter.