A drive to recruit 100 trainee GPs by the Scottish Government has resulted in only 37 posts being filled.

It advertised posts with a £20,000 golden handshake bursaries to recruit family doctors to rural practices classified as "hard to fill".

Of those who have taken up a position, 15 qualify for the five-figure grant.

This is the second round of recruitment for GPs in Scotland. The first drive advertised 339 roles, with 90 left vacant.

Professor Stewart Irvine, medical director for training body NHS Education for Scotland, said: "In this recruitment round, we have highlighted the benefits of living and working as a GP in Scotland, including the excellent training and lifestyle that is on offer.

"Our supportive and flexible approach offers trainees exceptional scope for personal development and trainee surveys rank Scotland GP training highly."

Health secretary Shona Robison said: "In the most recent recruitment round, 15 trainee GPs were recruited to posts that attracted the Scottish Government funded bursary of £20,000 - providing welcome evidence that financial incentives can help in efforts to attract trainees to those hard to fill areas in Scotland, and each individual will make a welcome contribution to the GP workforce."

Robison added the number of trainee GPs recruited this year is up by 15% compared to the previous year.

Applications for the roles were open from August 9 to August 25. A new recruitment drive is expected to begin in the near future.