NHS Highland on verge of falling down, claims Scottish Conservative leader during Inverness visit
Ruth Davidson, speaking during a visit to Inverness, warned that if the health board could not “get a grip” then the Scottish Government must intervene “because this is very close to falling down”.
Ms Davidson said NHS services in the Highlands were “being eroded all the time”.
Speaking amid continued problems plugging a multimillion-pound NHS Highland budget hole, she said: “It’s not just about the overspend or leaking talent, it’s about governance.
“We’ve had a recent review which pointed plainly to some of the issues. Even since that’s been published we’ve seen radiologists leave, we’ve seen more services go.
“I understand that the new health secretary [Jeane Freeman] has to look at the whole country but she really needs to get her finger out and look at Highland because there are specific issues here which have now been identified.”
She praised her Highlands and Islands party colleague Ed Mountain for pressing the issues and meeting with NHS insiders and patients who raised concerns.
Ms Davidson said low staff morale and risk to patients had to be urgently addressed.
“People from Golspie, for example, spend an hour getting to Raigmore and – because we don’t have the consultants we used to have – are then having to go to Dundee or Aberdeen. You’re missing that golden hour in terms of treatment time,” she said.
“Having thousands of [medical] films not being read, diagnoses not being given, that’s a serious concern – because of the lack of radiologists. The increase in the agency working [freelance locums] is an indication that workforce planning isn’t right.
“With a department like radiology and patients arriving at Raigmore having to be transferred, that is the point at which you see medical outcomes change.”
Mr Mountain, who has regularly locked horns with NHS Highland executives, said: “In the past, with interventional radiologists, there’s never been a rota for them to work at night-time. They’ve never been on call. I’ve never met any who hasn’t answered the telephone and come in when there’s a critical problem
“But we don’t have that criticality cover any more. All we have is a telephone number to ring in Aberdeen or in Dundee, and you know the problems that we have with ambulances up here and the shortness of ambulance supply.”
The board has been urged by local campaigners to host further public meetings to address lingering concerns about downgraded maternity services in Caithness.
NHS Highland chairman David Alston said: “As part of our recent discussions in Caithness people told us they were weary of hearing only about the challenges and asked for a vision for the future.
“Together, we’ve worked on that and believe we’ve come up with some positive solutions.
“At the time Ruth Davidson was in Inverness, NHS Highland and the UHI launched The Highlands and Islands Improvement Institute (HI3), a joint venture to support quality improvement across the NHS.
“It’s ground-breaking, focussed on finding local solutions and puts frontline staff and service users at the heart of problem solving and innovation.
“Many of the innovations, such as ‘NHS Near Me’, will reduce the need for patients to travel long distances. We’ve already been able to run haematology clinics in Wick in this way, something we’ve not been able to do for over 10 years.
“We’d welcome an opportunity to meet with Ruth Davidson, share some of our innovations and listen to her solutions.”
The ‘NHS Near Me’ initiative aims to provide consultations as close as possible to patients’ homes via video link.
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: “Staffing levels in NHS Highland have increased by over 22 per cent – in excess of 1400 during the lifetime of this government – with an increase of consultants of over 50 per cent.
“Last year, work began on a review of corporate governance in health boards. At the request of the chairman of NHS Highland, his was the first board to participate. The findings will inform future improvements across Scotland.”
