Image copyright Thinkstock Image caption The number of training places for GPs in Scotland will increase from 300 to 400 in 2016

The number of GP training places in Scotland will rise by a third from next year, Nicola Sturgeon is to announce.

The first minister will outline the plan during the inaugural Health and Social Care Alliance lecture taking place in Edinburgh.

The extra places are expected to help meet the increasing demand for family doctors and address the issue of more GPs working part-time.

The government wants more doctors to return to practice after career breaks.

Ms Sturgeon will tell a conference of health professionals that the number of specialist GP training posts across Scotland will increase from 300 to 400 in 2016.

Opposition parties and doctors have warned of a "crisis" within general practice in Scotland with unfilled vacancies, many surgeries facing recruitment problems, and some GPs leaving the profession due to increased workload and pressure.

What's the plan to increase GPs in Scotland? 300 GP training places in 2015 400 GP training places in 2016 £5m Training cost for 100 extra GPs

Earlier this year, a BBC Scotland investigation revealed that difficulties with GP recruitment had led to more doctors' surgeries being taken over by health boards - a measure used in special circumstances and emergencies.

The first minister is expected to say: "We know that we'll need more students in the future. That's partly to meet a growing demand for services, and partly because of changing working patterns. People who graduate are increasingly likely to become part-time GPs rather than full-time ones.

"We're already doing more to encourage people to choose GP training - for example by increasing medical students' exposure to primary care when they are undergraduates.

"And I can confirm today a further important step. We are increasing the number of training places for GPs by 33% - from 300 to 400."

Sturgeon: 'Need to do more to recruit'

Ms Sturgeon will tell the conference that the future of primary care in Scotland lies within "community health hubs" with GPs leading teams which include psychiatrists, paediatricians, pharmacists and other specialists.

"But of course, this vision for GP-led services depends on us doing more to recruit and then retain general practitioners," she will say.

"We know that in the last five years more than 250 people under the age of 50 have stopped being a GP. Often that will be for personal reasons - for example if they become parents, or carers themselves.

"Many of those GPs will become able to return to practice after a few years.

"So we will invest in a programme to increase the effectiveness of our existing GP returners' scheme. After all, training a GP costs approximately £500,000.

"It makes overwhelming sense to encourage people who have already been trained, and already have experience, back into practice."