No ban on Glasgow hospitals

NHS Lanarkshire has confirmed that patients in Rutherglen and Cambuslang can continue to use Glasgow hospitals for tests and treatment.

Associate medical director Dr Christopher Mackintosh broke the news this week in a letter to a Rutherglen woman who claims she had been told by her GP practice she would need to travel to Monklands Hospital for urgent tests.

The woman, who does not wish to be named, says the trip would have meant a two-hour journey on two buses each way to get there for the appointment.

Dr Mackintosh states in his correspondence: “In planning the change of boundary it was agreed at the outset that hospital flows would not change as a direct result of the changes to health board boundaries.

“To this end, patients in Rutherglen and Cambuslang can continue to access the same acute hospital services in Glasgow. This continues to be the case. I can confirm that as part of the process to change boundaries all GP practices were communicated with.”

Dr Mackintosh has also offered to reaffirm this with the practice concerned: Rutherglen Primary Care Centre.

The woman who raised the issue added:“I still do not know why I was told I would need to go to Monklands by my GP. When I questioned this, all I was told was‘we’re in NHS Lanarkshire now’.

“It seems crystal clear that no one should be told this in relation to hospital tests.”

Rutherglen MSP James Kelly welcomed the news.

“This is a reassuring response from the health board,”he said. “Patients in Rutherglen and Cambuslang will welcome the guarantee that they can continue to access Glasgow hospitals. “This is the arrangement they would expect. “I will continue to monitor the situation to make sure it stays in place,”Mr Kelly added.