The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
MSP says hospital’s future not threatened
NHS Tayside bosses tell Mairi Gougeon that Stracathro will not be closed
Stracathro Hospital’s future is not under threat, the area’s MSP has insisted.
Angus North and Mearns MSP Mairi Gougeon said she had received a categorical assurance the hospital would not close and that there are plans to further develop the site.
She spoke after veteran Stracathro campaigner and former Angus provost Ruth Leslie Melville said she had learned from a source that there were plans to close the hospital.
Ms Gougeon said she had talks with health bosses on Friday and was certain that the rumours were unfounded.
“Anyone in that room was left in no doubt about NHS Tayside’s plans for Stracathro and they have since publicly stated, in very plain language, that the hospital will not close,” she said.
Mrs Gougeon said the speculation had been deeply unsettling for patients, staff and the wider community and she was keen to put it to rest.
“I’ll be the first to admit I’ve been sceptical of NHS Tayside in the past and their motives with Stracathro, especially after the closure of the Mulberry Unit and removal of services such as endoscopy. That is why I sought written assurances at that time from NHS Tayside and the government that there was no threat to Stracathro and I got that assurance.
“I also requested a meeting at Stracathro with NHS Tayside, again, to seek assurances that there was no threat to the hospital and again I was told there was no threat.
“I have been inundated by calls from staff members and concerned constituents alike since the story broke. People are concerned they would lose their jobs, and that they could no longer receive care at the hospital.
“If I believed for one minute there was any threat, I would be at the forefront of any campaign.”
NHS Tayside’s new leadership team reiterated that Stracathro’s future was secure on Friday.
Chairman John Brown said: “The board of NHS Tayside has not changed its previously stated position that Stracathro Hospital is key to the future delivery of health services in Tayside.
“It remains our intention that we will treat more patients on the site in the future as we press ahead with our ambitious plans to redesign health and care services.”
Mrs Leslie-Melville led a successful campaign to retain the hospital when it was threatened with closure 20 years ago after emergency general surgery was moved to Ninewells.
She subsequently founded the Friends of Stracathro fundraising group and warned that people in the Angus and Mearns would not lie down and let the facility close without a fight.
She said she had been told by an “impeccable source” at the health board that the hospital’s future was at risk.
I have been inundated by calls from staff and concerned constituents alike since the story broke. People are concerned about their jobs and if they’ll receive care. MAIRI GOUGEON MSP