Public meeting taking place over halt on Grantown health centre improvements
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"We have some bad news...”
It is never a phrase you want to hear from a doctor. But when it’s not a personal consultation but a community-wide one, the shock is even worse.
With that announcement on Grantown Medical Centre’s Facebook page, Dr Douglas Winch launched an appeal earlier this week to rally the troops and persuade the Scottish Government to think again on deferring the long promised upgrade of the building.
“We have heard that the Scottish Government has suddenly decided to halt funding for the refurbishment of the medical practice,” Dr Winch reported.
“Now we think we will have a building that’s going to have a reduced capacity to what was planned.
“We are worried that this is going to mean a reduction in the health services that are going to be available locally and it’s also going to make it difficult for us to run a properly functioning medical practice.”
Dr Winch has also shared his colleagues’ concern that in both the long and the short term the government will not actually be saving any money either 'so we want your help'.
A meeting is being held tomorrow (Thursday) at 7pm in the Grant Arms Hotel, where patients will be able to find out just what the latest situation is.
“Come along and find out more about what’s happening,” the GP urges. Also, we would like you to write to your MSP.
“Also, if you think you’ve any skills that may help with our campaign to make them see why this is a poor decision – that might be PR, communication. planning, legal expertise, that kind of thing – then please get in touch with us by email.”
Strathspey MSP Fergus Ewing said: "I have been inundated with expressions of concern and anger at the decision to withdraw funding for this project and I shall be providing my full support in a campaign to seek to overturn it.
"I will be attending the meeting at the Grant Arms in order to listen to the views of all local people present.
"But it is abundantly clear that there is a huge amount of anger at this decision and therefore a campaign must be mounted to stand up for the people of Grantown and vicinity who are being so badly let down.
"I hope to work with those in other parties in such a campaign and identify other savings that can be made which would allow this decision to be scrapped."
As the Strathy revealed last week, the announcement was a crushing disappointment for the town’s health service.
Kathy Cockman, executive manager at the Grantown practice, said staff had been left feeling demoralised by the confirmation.
She said: “The GP partners and the entire team at Grantown Medical Practice are extremely disappointed and demoralised that the Scottish Government have withdrawn the funding required to complete phase two of the Grantown Health Centre refurbishment which was the last part of the Badenoch and Strathspey Redesign approved by government in 2015.”
