Nine out of ten GPs in Scotland believe rising workloads have damaged patient care.

The findings come in a survey released by the British Medical Association (BMA), which garnered responses from 900 GPs from across the country.

A total of 91% of doctors felt their increased workloads have had a negative impact on the level patient care they can give.

Only 7% of those polled thought the amount of time they could spend with a patient was adequate.

More than half, 53%, of GPs wanted longer consultations with certain types of patients, such as those with long-term conditions.

Increased funding was ranked as the top priority for NHS Scotland by 44% of the survey's respondents.

More than a third of the doctors placed an increased numbers of GPs entering the health service as their highest priority.

Dr Alan McDevitt, BMA's Scottish GP committee chairman, said: "This survey reflects the immense pressure that GPs working across Scotland are currently feeling.

"The rising workload is simply unsustainable and something has to change to make general practice in Scotland fit for the future.

"It is essential that the additional £500m per year promised by the Scottish Government is spent directly on supporting general practice.

"Giving us more time with patients, expanding the GP workforce and supporting the practice-based primary care team will help to ensure the quality of care that our patients receive remains of a high standard."

The Scottish Conservatives said the SNP government is "responsible" for the situation.

Shadow health secretary Donald Cameron said: "This is the latest in a long line of warnings the SNP has received on Scotland's GP crisis.

"Posts are being left unfilled, patients can't get quick appointments and projections for future service levels are becoming increasingly dire.

"The SNP has been in sole charge of health for a decade and it can't get away from the fact it is responsible for this situation.

In response to the survey's findings, the Scottish Government said it is already taking steps to increase consultation times with patients.

Health secretary Shona Robison said: "Last month I signed a joint agreement with the BMA about the future direction of GP services in Scotland.

"Through this agreement we are committed to work with the profession to redesign services so that GPs are supported by a wider team of health professionals in the community, allowing them to spend more time on consultation with patients.

"We are significantly increasing the amount of investment going into primary and GP care - an extra £500m by the end of this parliament."

She added: "However, as we have made consistently clear, we must also reform the way we provide services.

"These reforms, coupled with the additional investment, will help to improve the attractiveness of general practice as a career, reduce workloads and create a more sustainable workforce."