The shock closure of Perth Royal Infirmary’s out-of-hours unit must not become permanent, politicians have declared.
Perthshire North MSP John Swinney reacted swiftly to the news that due to a staffing crisis the service will cease opening overnight and at weekends from Friday to see cases of minor illness and injury.
The measure, which will be in place over the summer holiday period, will see the service operating from a specialist base at Kings Cross Health and Community Care Centre in Dundee.
The change means some people would have to travel to Dundee to be seen, though in some cases there might be a home visit or a patient might be seen at a local healthcare unit.
Mr Swinney said he shared the “deep concern” felt locally about the impact the closure will have and said the service must reopen in the near future.
“I am extremely concerned by the temporary changes proposed to the out-of-hours service at PRI,” he said.
“I have already been in touch with NHS Tayside to seek assurances about how my constituents in Perthshire North will be able to access the service and to ensure the issues that have led to this proposal are resolved speedily.
“It is essential that people are able to access a local out-of-hours service and I will be pressing for this to remain the case.”
Liz Smith, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, also called for an assurance that the service will be quickly reinstated.
“Local people across Perthshire and Kinross-shire are clear that they want to see Perth Royal Infirmary as their primary hospital that is a position which has arguably been undermined over many years and withdrawal of out-of-hours service only adds to this concern.
“In recent years we have seen the maternity ward disappear from PRI as well as paediatrics, pathology, and weekend surgery. It is not surprising that there is such public anger about the latest plans to withdraw the services.”