NHS bosses give pledge over end-of-life care for patients

NHS Highland bosses are reassuring any end-of-life patients and their families anxious about their care after a political row erupted over the ending of an out-of-hours medical service for people in Mallaig and Arisaig.

News that doctors at the Mallaig and Arisaig Medical Practice were stopping their voluntary evening and weekend end-of-life care service prompted local Labour MSP David Stewart to tackle Scottish Health Minister Shona Robison over the issue.

Mr Stewart, who represents the Highlands and Islands, wrote to Ms Robison earlier this month after the practice GPs were reported saying the move was due to ‘continuing financial cuts to the practice’.

Mr Stewart is concerned about the situation, in the light of a shortage of rural GPs and increasing strains on remote, rural practices.

But despite Ms Robison’s assurances that with health care staff continuing to provide this service for people at home and in the local MacKintosh Centre as before, it meant there should be ‘little impact’ for the community, Mr Stewart was not satisifed.

‘The situation in Malliag and Arisaig is very worrying, despite assurances from the health secretary. I’m keen to find out more from local people about this and would appeal for them to contact me,’ he told the Lochaber Times.

However, NHS Highland says the only difference will be that the community nursing team oncall 24 hours a day for end-of-life care for patients in Mallaig and Arisaig will now contact GPs and clinicians based at the Belford Hospital in Fort William out of hours.

And the message from health bosses is that it will be ‘business as usual’ for the provision of endof-life care by the local district nursing team.

Mary Boyle, the integrated team leader for west and south Lochaber, said: ‘The district nursing team will continue, as before, to provide the same on-call service for end-oflife care.

‘The GPs will also continue to provide end-oflife care during the day. However, out of hours my team will access the out-of-hours GP service in Fort William if we need medical input.’

Ms Boyle said her team will also further enhance the planning of care during end of life with careful management in partnership with the GPs, with a focus on the anticipation of needs to minimise the requirement of urgent intervention during the out-of-hours or weekend periods.

And she added: ‘Greater detail will now be included in anticipatory and end-of-life care plans by both Mallaig GPs to ensure

GPs will continue to provide end-of-life care Mary Boyle Integrated team leader

the relevant information is there to support the out-of-hours GP service to make the best clinical decisions for the patient and their families should the need ever arise.’

NHS Highland says it will also continue to provide support in other ways. It has, over many

years, supported the Mallaig and Arisaig medical practice with NHS Highland community nursing staff and provided treatment rooms and practice nursing services, which will continue.

Further support, from a ‘rural fellow’ – a newly qualified GP who has signed up to the government-funded

Rural Fellowship Programme and is employed by NHS Highland – has been offered for this year to provide additional GP hours and support.

Asked if it was concerned for end-of-life patients in the Mallaig/Arisaig area, Macmillan Cancer Support’s strategic partnership

manager for Scotland, Trisha Hatt, told the Lochaber Times: ‘We are working in partnership with NHS Highland and other organisations to look at ways of building on the good work that is already being done in palliative and end-of-life care in the Highlands.’