Dumbarton MSP Jackie Baillie and the now theatened again Vale of Leven Hospital.
By Democrat reporter
Services at the Vale of Leven Hospital are once again under threat, it is feared.
The future of the site’s Minor Injuries service appears to be in doubt, as NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is accused of bringing in cuts “by the back door”.
Fears are rife that the changes are being presented as a fait accompli, without consultation with staff or public and will see the service withdrawn overnight.
It would bring the Vale’s minor injuries unit into line with others operated by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, which do not provide overnight care.
Currently, nursing staff provide minor injuries unit cover between 8am and 8pm.
The Integrated Care service provided by GPs then assumes responsibility for care overnight, allowing 24/7 provision at the Vale of Leven for Minor Injuries.
But it appears that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde hopes to implement changes to the operating hours of the minor injuries unit service and remove GP cover.
Critics also fear the move would threaten the Medical Assessment Unit and result in a withdrawal of Out-Of-Hours care.
The board plans to redirect patients back home to wait on daytime services, or to already overstretched A&E departments.
Respected former GP, Dr Patrick Trust, has revealed that the site is in crisis as a result of the health board’s actions.
Dr Trust, pictured right on the campaign to save the Vale in 2007, who was instrumental in the retention of Out-of-Hours Services at the Vale of Leven Hospital following the removal of Accident and Emergency cover, now fears the situation is critical.
The veteran GP now chairs the Lomond Patients’ Group, which represents the interests of patients in communities from Helensburgh to Dumbarton.
He said: “It is clear that the future of Medical Assessment and Minor Injuries services at the Vale of Leven are in doubt.
“I helped set up this model 18 years ago and we went to such trouble to make sure the Vale stayed open.
“Decisions are being taken and things being done, by the back door. I’m very distressed by this.”
It is claimed that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is attempting to sabotage Out-of-Hours Services at the Vale.
A slowdown on GP recruitment for the Medical Assessment Unit left gaps in coverage looming over the festive period. Recruitment for new GPs appears to offer only zero hours contracts.
A primary care nursing post which offered support to GPs has also not been filled and there appears to be no plans to do so.
Dr Trust added: “The Vale did not have a problem recruiting GPs interested in the service, they wanted to join, it was interesting work.
“This does not just apply to local doctors, many came down from Glasgow, however, zero hours contracts are not an attractive option for anyone.”
Fears are rife that the changes are being pushed through clandestinely during the festive period.
The Minor Injuries and Medical Assessment units at the Vale of Leven Hospital were designed to ensure as much Out-Of-Hours Care could remain in the community as possible, in the wake of the controversial downgrade of the site.
Following the transfer of A&E services to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, NHS bosses pledged in 2004 that “most of the A&E caseload” would still be dealt with at the Vale.
In 2007, as the future of the Vale in the wake of the changes was still under discussion, then Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon and her successor, Shona Robison, oversaw the creation of the 2009 Vision for the Vale document.
The blueprint for care at the Vale committed to retaining unscheduled medical services, to accommodate between 70 and 80 per cent of the 6,300 cases diverted to the Medical Assessment Unit and pledged no change for patients passing through the Minor Injuries Unit.
MSP Jackie Baillie blasted the move, saying: “I am clear that commitments were given to this community by the Scottish Government in the Vision for the Vale document.
“This was supposed to be a blueprint for services going forward that the community could trust.
“Now we find ourselves in a position once again where the health board appears to be plotting behind closed doors and attempting to present changes as a done deal.
“This should be about patients, not simply what suits the health board.
“Commitments were made to the communities served by the Vale of Leven Hospital and now, not for the first time, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde appears to be attempting to backpedal on those pledges.
“To make matters worse, it is attempting to do this without consulting with staff or the community at a time when attention will be diverted elsewhere by the festive period.”
NOTES ON THE VISION FOR THE VALE DOCUMENT: found: “the model which we describe in this Vision will allow between 70% and 80% of patients to be cared for at the Vale of Leven. The other patients will either bypass the Vale after calling an ambulance, after being seen by their GP in the local surgery or be transferred after self-presenting at the Vale Hospital.
- “The decision on who will be suitable for care at the Vale will be based on the use of clinical protocols which assess how unwell the patient is and on an agreement that certain conditions will not be treated at the Vale” and added: “In overall terms our Vision therefore means no change for at least 18,400 of the 20,300 patients from the Vale of Leven area who currently require unscheduled hospital care.”
- It concluded: “There will be doctors on-site 24 hours each day, 7 days each week in the hospital and during busy times there will be more doctors available” and pledged provision of a Minor Injuries Unit with “ only patients with the most severe types of these injuries” requiring to travel to the RAH to receive care.