Eagle voices concerns over rural healthcare provision
A north MSP is seeking answers from the Scottish Government about how they intend to deal with a growing crisis in healthcare provision across rural Scotland.
The call was made by Buckie-based Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Tim Eagle.
His intervention follows the recent publication of an all-party committee of the Scottish Parliament which concluded that the NHS funding formula “fails to meet the specific needs of remote and rural areas”.
Mr Eagle, the Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, said: “I intend to field a series of parliamentary questions to test whether the Scottish Government is taking this report seriously.
“I am very concerned that people in areas like the Highlands and Islands may not be receiving the full range of heathcare services that they should be receiving and that local staff are not losing out on professional development opportunities.
“Specifically, I wish to see evidence that ministers are planning to respond to the committee’s findings.
“And that includes recognising their responsibility to provide health professionals with options to gain training and development opportunities where they live and work. This is particularly important in places like the Western Isles whose NHS Board made this point very forcefully in their submission to the committee.
“We all know that the NHS is facing very significant short-term challenges as we move into the winter months, but we need to see that ministers are also planning to ensure the service is sustainable on a longer-term basis.
“Without a sustainable health service we will not have sustainable communities in our rural and remote areas.”
At the end of October, Mr Eagle launched a survey asking for people across the north to share their views, experiences and concerns with regard to healthcare delivery in rural areas.
The move preceded a rural healthcare debate the MSP sponsored in the Scottish Parliament on October 30.
Among the many issues Mr Eagle - who is married to a local rural GP - were downgraded maternity services in places like Moray and Caithness; the campaign for a dialysis unit in Oban; significant funding gaps in the Western Isles; problems accessing GPs; and delays in operations.
The debate can be viewed at https://scottishparliament.tv/
