Leading doctors are calling on the Scottish government to withdraw its plans to drastically reduce the number of health boards to just two.
The new chairwoman of BMA Scotland, Dr Nora Murray-Cavanagh, said the proposal to cut the number from 14 to just two would be costly and time-consuming – and that there was no clear evidence it would benefit patients.
First Minister John Swinney unveiled the plan a month ago, saying it would streamline management and free up resources for frontline care.
He has since acknowledged there are “different opinions” about the proposals, but said the government would engage with unions and NHS boards.
Swinney announced the plan as part of his Programme for Government at the start of September, describing it as the “most significant structural reform of our NHS in the devolution era”.
Fourteen existing health boards would be reduced to just two Strategic Health Boards, covering the west and east of mainland Scotland, with different arrangements considered for the three island health boards.
Ministers said it would simplify administration and reduce duplication so that more resources could be directed to front line treatment as well as delivering more consistency in care across the country.
But members of the British Medical Association’s Scottish Council raised serious concerns and previously voted to oppose the plan.
After the vote, Murray-Cavanagh said it wanted the government to “withdraw and rethink its whole approach” and come up with a more immediate way of helping patients.
The GP from Wester Hailes in Edinburgh, who took up the role with BMA Scotland just a few weeks ago, stressed that doctors did not deny that the NHS needed to change.
She said: “Our position is not one that argues NHS reform isn’t necessary – no-one thinks we can simply go on as we are.
“As doctors, we know better than most the precarious state of services across Scotland.
“But this is the wrong set of reforms, and it will set Scotland on a path of a costly, time-consuming, resource-sapping reorganisation, with no serious engagement with those of us holding the service together and no clear evidence put forward on how it will benefit patients.”
Responding to BMA Scotland urging the Scottish Government to “withdraw and rethink” plans to reduce the number of health boards, Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Adam Harley MSP said: “This is a pretty damning verdict from one of Scotland’s leading medical bodies.
“It’s not clear how these proposals get a single patient treated faster or turn around the shocking levels of burnout among staff.
“John Swinney has not explained how these plans are any different to the SNP’s previous centralisation projects.
“Communities should be in charge of decisions that directly affect them, especially when their needs are different to those in our bigger cities like Glasgow and Edinburgh.”
This is all about cost cutting and shaping the NHS for privatisation.
No if, no buts with NHS England being abolished, yes.repeat ABOLISHED, and the forty two Trusts being reorganised into around fourteen individual care units to be managed by the department for health and social care the plan is clear. And it is clear in Scotland too.
The national health service was is the last big sell off of assets and service that private corporates want to get their hands on. It is huge business and much much bigger than the sell off of electricity, gas , water, ports and airports that we once owned.
Big money, big profits, just look at health care in the USA.
But like all of the family silver sold off the NHS is the big one. Folks should remember that aS the big privatisation begins.
Profit before people, or should I say profit from people. We sleepwalk at our peril.