Dumbarton and the Vale’s MSP Jackie Baillie has followed up her opposition to a proposed closure of the GP Out of Hours service at Vale of Leven Hospital – by claiming one doctor found out about the plan on Facebook.
The Labour politician secured a debate about the service in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday, May 31.
During her speech she attacked NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde over what she claimed was a lack of consultation about the proposed closure, claiming that one GP found out about it on social media.
The future of local out of hours services is in doubt after a series of weekend closures at the Vale hospital.
Health board officials are understood to be considering permanently withdrawing the service during the week.
Under the plans patients would be forced to travel to Paisley or Glasgow when GP surgeries are closed in the evenings.
Now a campaign is growing to not only protect the service at the Vale hospital, but secure other vital services it provides.
Ms Baillie said in her speech: “There is an NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde-wide plan to cut back access to GP out of hours services.“There has been no consultation on the proposed changes, and the health board has issued empty reassurances via the local media while, behind the scenes, its officials send out papers to the health and social care partnership recommending cuts to the service.
“Just ask the local GPs in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven and Helensburgh who met me and hospital campaigners last Friday, May 26.
“They are furious about the lack of engagement. Not only have they not been invited to share their unique insight into the needs of local patients, they were not even informed of the proposals.
“One of the GPs in my area found out about the proposed cuts not from the health board, but on Facebook.
“Local GPs, who are responsible for the care of about 75,000 patients across the entire catchment area of the Vale of Leven hospital, have issued a unanimous statement condemning the proposals, in which they say:
“Closure of the Vale service constitutes an unacceptable clinical risk which will be felt most by disadvantaged patients, thereby widening health inequality.
“In West Dunbartonshire, we have some of the most deprived communities in Scotland and the lowest rates of car ownership.
“The last bus from the Vale of Leven to the Royal Alexandra hospital leaves at 10 past 6pm, and the patient transport service does not have the capacity to offer transport within one or even two hours.
“The poorest patients would be hardest hit and would, in effect, lose access to emergency primary care.
“If the proposals go ahead, patients will self-refer and end up in the wrong place – at the front door of an accident and emergency department, thereby further increasing waiting times.”
She added: “The message that we want to convey is clear: stop the cuts and protect local services.”
Ms Baillie received cross-party support from West of Scotland list MSP, the Scottish Conservatives and Unionist member, Maurice Corry.
Mr Corry said: “The Vale of Leven hospital is a central part of life in our area of Scotland. For many of us—myself included—it is where we remember our children being born and family members receiving life-saving treatment; for some, it is also the place where we have said our last goodbyes to loved ones.
“That is why every threat of a reduction in services at the Vale is followed by such a passionate outcry from the local community and furious debate.
“Only local people can truly understand how important the Vale is to our community.”
“The moving of the GP out-of-hours service from the Vale to Paisley is another example of a threat against the hospital, and it would be detrimental to our area.
“Asking people in places such as Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Helensburgh, Lomond and the Rosneath peninsula to travel for more than an hour to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley to access emergency primary care services is unfair, and I certainly do not believe that it will improve patient care or people’s ability to access that care.
“We are not talking about an underused service that wastes manpower and resources that could be better used elsewhere; rather, it is a service that meets a vital need of residents north of the Clyde in my West Scotland region.
“The out-of-hours service is not a centralised service; it is a basic service for our communities.
“The issue can only be understood by local people who rely on the service and see the benefit of its being provided in the Vale of Leven hospital. “
He added: “Moving the service to Paisley would mean that patients would have travel times of more than an hour and would incur personal costs in making those journeys.
“It is vital that the Government steps forward, protects the out-of-hours service and keeps the promises that it made to local residents, patients and NHS staff in the “Vision for the Vale” document.”
Green Party MSP for West of Scotland, Ross Greer, said: “I hope that the cabinet secretary will consider the impact that such a cut would have on people in and around the Vale of Leven.
“After all, the Scottish Government’s 2015 independent review of out-of-hours primary care services states that they should be ‘person-centred … Intelligence-led” and “fair and accessible to all’.”
“Restricting out-of-hours care in the Vale of Leven will not achieve that.
“It will exacerbate health inequalities that are already a serious problem across this country, particularly in west and central Scotland.”
Cabinet secretary for health Shona Robison said the continued provision of out of hours primary care services across the Clyde area, including at the Vale, was a “key priority” for the government.
She added: “As I have previously stated as part of the wider review of primary care services being undertaken by the Integrated Joint Boards in Glasgow, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde are undertaking a review of their GP Out of Hours services in line with the recommendations outlined in Sir Lewis Ritchie’s national review into out-of-hours care.
“In conducting the review we expect integrated joint boards to recognise the importance of local services and to undertake meaningful engagement with the public in the shaping and delivery of services that meet the needs of local people.”
“We want a high-quality out-of-hours service which fully meets patient needs.”
Article originally published by Dumbarton Reporter
