Meeting will discuss health care
A MEETING to discuss how to improve out- of-hours medical care across the Highlands and Islands is to take place after the current system was described as ‘clearly unsustainable’.
Members of NHS Highland’s board will be asked to consider on Tuesday September 27 proposals on how to reduce heavy dependency on doctors.
The move follows a report which explained attracting GPs has become increasingly difficult, thus creating the need to employ locums to provide cover and causing an overspend in budgets. The shortage is part of a nationwide trend which is understood to have hit the Highlands particularly hard. Earlier this month, The Oban
Times reported private medical procedures in the area had racked up a £ 50,000 bill for the health service last year.
In recent days MSP Rhoda Grant wrote to the health secretary raising concerns about the level of care received by her constituents, particularly in relation to NHS 24.
The Highlands and Islands MSP took the action after being contacted by the son of an elderly lady with mild cognitive impairment who had difficulty receiving treatment as she could not speak directly to a telephone operator.
This latest report, titled ‘Transforming Urgent Care’, has called for a ‘significant change’ in the way staff are recruited and trained and the ability to move staff to areas of greatest need.
According to NHS Highland, one of the priorities is to address the challenges in the Inner Moray Firth area, where contingency plans are required most weeks and thee is extensive use of locums.
It highlighted the situation on the Small Isles, where there was previously a resident GP on one island and subsequent- ly a vacant practice staffed by locum doctors.
The Acharacle practice in Ardnamurchan was cited as a positive example of a change to a more innovative care model where the out- of-hours rota is partially covered by advanced nurse and paramedics. Emergency care is supported by first responders and clinical decision-making support is provided from Fort William and Lochaline.
A spokesman admitted changes are required in urban areas and smaller communities and that funding has been approved by the Scottish Government to enable testing of the new approaches in the Highlands.