Mental health team hit by doctor shortage
Out-of-hours crisis response service goes to Dundee
doctors but, despite the best efforts of everyone involved, we have no option but to move to our contingency plans.
“These impact on both the General Adult Psychiatry (GAP) inpatient service and the Crisis Response Service in Tayside.
“GAP inpatient services are currently provided across three sites - Mulberry ward at the Susan Carnegie Centre in Angus, Moredun ward in Murray Royal Hospital, Perth, and two wards in the Carseview Centre in Dundee.”
The Crisis Response assessment is currently provided at the Kinfauns unit at Murray Royal Hospital.
He continued: “In order to allow us to provide a safe level of care for our patients, GAP inpatient services will be provided from two sites, Carseview and Murray Royal Hospital. This will see an interim move of the Mulberry ward to Carseview, with the transition starting on February 1. It may take a few weeks until the ward is fully transferred.
“The Crisis Response Service
An interim move will affect out of hours crisis mental health services based at the Kinfauns unit at Murray Royal Hospital currently based at Murray Royal will transfer to Carseview. There are no changes to services provided in hours or to the provision of intensive home treatment in Perth and Kinross.
The out-of-hours assessments will transfer to the Carseview Centre between 3pm and 9am weekdays and at weekends. Affected staff in both Angus and Perth and Kinross will be supported to move to their temporary workplace.
“The decision to move the Mulberry ward on an interim basis was taken based on the many local and regional mental health services provided in Dundee and Perth and Kinross. Junior doctors are crucial to providing a whole range of mental health services in these areas both in and out of hours, including Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, learning disability services, Psychiatry of Old Age and regional secure care clinic services. This means that the majority of our junior doctors MSP Liz Smith
are centred around Dundee and Perth.
“The interim moves we are planning ensure that the limited number of junior doctors we have are able to care for the whole range of Tayside patients in the safest and most appropriate environments.”
Reacting to the development, Murdo Fraser MSP said: “It is very concerning to hear about the loss of this valuable service from the Murray Royal in Perth to Carseview in Dundee.
“Clearly there continues to be severe pressures on the NHS across Scotland, particularly in mental health services and this is something that the SNP Government must address quickly.”
And Liz Smith MSP added: “These changes will inevitably worry patients and families across Perth and Kinross and are symptomatic of a wider problem of recruitment within our NHS. Clearly the Scottish Government is failing to address these challenges and I would call on them to listen to our universities who have previously flagged up issues relating to junior doctor training.
“Mental health services are facing enormous pressures and if we are to meet these challenges head on then units like the Murray Royal will need to be equipped with staff to meet demand.”
NHS Tayside has also suffered from a shortage of available GPs for its out-of-hours services provided at Perth and outside of Dundee.