Holyrood View - Seeking assurance on NHS services

On Wednesday (June 25), the integrated joint board of Angus health and social care partnership will rubber-stamp changes at Whitehills in Forfar.

This will mean minor injuries involving scans or other "complex" elements will be addressed at Arbroath.

Non-scan appointments will be dealt with by Community Treatment & Care Services. This is commonly abbreviated to CTAC. This will likely mean people will be referred to "close to home" services like your GP or pharmacy. The trouble is the responsibility looks like it's being handed off without anyone to take the baton.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland previously did a survey among NHS staff who worked in CTAC. The most frequently mentioned difficulties were the potential loss of continuity of care, destabilisation of the work force, and the perennial problem of what will happen in rural areas.

People who know me will know I am firmly against any erosion of local services, and the NHS estate is top of that list.

Montrose MIU has been closed since 2022. This was meant to be a temporary arrangement at the tail end of the pandemic. So people in north Angus are already travelling to Forfar, Arbroath and even Ninewells in Dundee for services.

When the x-ray machine broke at Forfar and the NHS couldn’t afford a new one, I asked what would happen to imaging services in Angus. People can’t time accidents and will be left with no option other than to travel more than 40 miles to Arbroath with injuries, while some may not have access to transport at that time of night.

During the consultation, respondents said public transport was described as inadequate and unreliable.

I have asked for assurances that Whitehills minor injury services won’t be closed by proxy, when figures will only be able to show that more people are accessing services at Arbroath Infirmary. With ambulances queuing at Ninewells, it’s more important than ever that we make full use of all of our local MIUs.

This week at Holyrood I will ask about the plight of Brechin residents still impacted by Storm Babet in October 2023. We are now almost two years after that event, people are still out of their homes, and very little has been done regarding the 56 council properties around River Street which have lain empty since that date. This is costing the public purse £6000 every week in lost revenue.

In 2016, Brechiners were told by the visiting SNP environment secretary that the town’s £16.3 million flood prevention scheme would protect them for generations to come.

Seven years later, Brechin was in the eye of Babet, which destroyed homes and endangering lives and livelihoods.

With options ranging from millions to tens of millions of pounds, the cash-strapped council is looking to the SNP government for assistance. It is crucial our council – beset by years of brutal cuts from Holyrood – gets a fair funding deal as part of that, so flood protection can be reinstated and they can build new council properties.