Medical: BMA urging caution over planned return of services

The British Medical Association (BMA) Scotland has urged the Scottish Government to take a cautious approach to the return of some NHS services.

Non-emergency procedures and screenings for diseases including cancer were postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak in Scotland but plans have now been unveiled to allow the health service to provide a full range of care again.

In the lead-up to a debate in the Scottish Parliament on the framework for the return of services – known as Remobilise, Recover, Redesign – BMA Scotland chairman Lewis Morrison stressed the complexity of the task, saying a balance between increasing patient numbers and stopping the spread of the virus must be struck.

He said: “It is vital we get as much of our NHS back up and running as quickly as can safely be done for people who depend on it – and need our care.

“We completely understand the desire to resume more normal NHS services as lockdown begins to ease.

“But this has to be carefully balanced with the huge scale and complexity of the challenge we face.

“Many doctors are concerned about how they will cope with surges in demand as the NHS begins to open up and a second wave of coronavirus remains a real possibility.”

A majority of 910 respondents to a survey by the union also said they were not confident demand would be met when NHS services resume, with 52.7% saying they felt that to be the case in their own practice or department, 57.9% about the local health economy and 63.6% about community settings such as care homes.