No consultation on the transfer of care

Dear Editor

I have read your recent article about the transference of palliative care from NHS Glasgow to NHS Lanarkshire with interest.

NHS Lanarkshire and the local politicians are missing the point.

It’s not about quality of care, as has been mentioned in every quotation from NHSL, it is about the transference of Cambuslang and Rutherglen patients or residents with no consultation or even consideration of the full implications, either with the public or local GPs. The public deserve to know what this means for them.

Alex Reid, who was the health secretary who made the decision to change all of health care, pharmacy, dentists to NHS Lanarkshire, said that would be a paper exercise and I can only imagine that this transfer has cost millions of pounds so far.

I plan to submit a Freedom of Information Request to see how much this “paper exercise” process has actually cost. Perhaps the local/ national press should do so too. The costs far out weigh the benefits - ask those on the coal face. Especially in a time when we are struggling to fund the NHS and even paying extra taxes in Scotland to support it.

Throughout the last few years, GPs have lost valuable service as NHS Lanarkshire have refused to fund them this they call it transference of care, just like the Palliative Services.

So what happens if your loved one needs hospital treatment when attending EK hospice? Does everyone realise that they will be sent to a Lanarkshire hospital and not always Hairmyres? Where are the patient transport links to Wishaw and Monklands? Are there assurances from the local politicians that these are in place? NHS Lanarkshire hospitals were one of the first to struggle with demand last winter - when Hairmyres closes for all admissions, patients are then shunted to the next available hospital i.e. Wishaw or Monklands. Again, if you ask those on the ground, the consultants at these hospitals, I am sure they would agree that they are close to bursting as it is. This takes me back to the first point I made: there has been no consultation.

I attended all of the Out of Hours public meetings at a time when NHSL were suggesting that there was a transfer of care for this too. At least at that point there was a strong opposition to the move by most of the local politicians and the local people.

At present, from your article, the local politicians are disappointed about lack of consultation but happy enough to endorse the move. Why?

It is my opinion that there is little comprehension of the situation. The doctor at Rutherglen is spot on with his comments about “fragmentation of care”. The truth is it became fragmented when the “health” services were transferred. Libby Fox