Surgery services under the knife Public meetings to hear of proposals
A bid to shift emergency surgery out of Perth has generated‘valuable’responses from around the district, NHS Tayside says.
Last month the PA reported that Perth Royal Infirmary is to be placed at the centre of a transformation programme to scale back some of the key service and shift it to Dundee.
Currently the Taymount Terrace hospital carries out both elected and unscheduled - emergency - surgery, but NHS board bosses say that cannot continue.
NHS Tayside is consulting on its proposals, which also involve increasing the amount of elective surgery in Perth, until October.
The health care provider says the proposed changes are to ensure it can continue to provide sustainable, safe, high-quality surgical services into the future.
Like all health boards in Scotland, NHS Tayside is facing significant challenges including caring for an ageing population, an increasing number of people with long-term and multiple conditions, a shortage of some groups of health staff and growing demand for services.
But a spokesperson said: “NHS Tayside cannot keep delivering health services the way they have always delivered them. Services throughout NHS Tayside need to adapt to ensure they meet the current and future needs of the population.”
The board says that surgeons, doctors, nurses and other members of the clinical team are leading this proposed change and they have explored many options of how surgery can be transformed in Tayside with other clinicians, managers, voluntary sector representatives, staff and NHS Tayside public partners.
The full set of proposals affect Ninewells, Perth Royal Infirmary and Stracathro hospitals. If approved, all unscheduled surgery should come to Ninewells Hospital 24-hours a-day, there will be an increase in the number of elective surgery patients at Perth Royal Infirmary and the move will be part of a bid to develop PRI as a centre for excellence for elective surgery, and there is an expected increase in the number of day case and minor elective surgery patients at Stracathro.
NHS Tayside is highlighting potential benefits, other including that more Perth and Kinross elective patients would be treated closer to home at PRI, and there would be an enhancement of critical care in the hospital to deal with an increase in major elective surgery.
The public consultation on the proposals for surgical services will run until October 3.
NHS Tayside general manager for surgery, Arlene Wood, said: “During the first month of the consultation, we have already received valuable feedback on the shaping surgical services programme from members of the public, service users, carers, staff and other interested stakeholders.
“We would like to thank everyone who has already taken part and we would encourage people to continue to share their views on the proposed future model for surgical services in Tayside.”
Views will be used for a report with recommendations for the new service model, which will be presented back to the NHS Tayside board for a final decision.
Information about the consultation is available at www.nhstayside.scot. nhs.uk where the public will be able to find out more about the proposals and complete an online questionnaire.
The public has the chance to have its say at meetings in September. These are on Monday, September 18, 3-5pm at Pitlochry Town Hall. This time has been altered since a previous statement.
A second event is at PKC’s council offices, 2 High Street, Perth, on Thursday, September 21, from 5-7pm.
A further, drop in and presentation, event is on Tuesday, September 26, at Ninewells Hospital.
It is 2-4pm drop-in and 5-7pm presentation, both at the Gannochy Lecture Theatre.