Angus GPs have called for an independent investigation following what they claim has been three years’ waste of time and money by local health chiefs exploring service redesign options that were never going to happen.
All 22 GPs in north Angus are opposing drastic beds cuts at Montrose Royal and Brechin infirmaries which they fear would ultimately lead to closure of both hospitals.
Last month they walked out on a consultation by Angus Community Health Partnership, saying they no longer had confidence in the way it was being managed, and around 4000 people in Montrose and Brechin have signed a petition backing their action.
The NHS Tayside board has now instructed the Angus CHP to spend 18 months re-evaluating how community services can be developed and chairman Sandy Watson has categorically assured the GPs that Brechin and Montrose infirmaries will be safe for at least the next five to 10 years, and it had never been on the cards to move the beds to Stracathro.
Welcoming the surprise announcement, the GPs’ spokesman said, “We are delighted to have the chairman’s categorical assurance that Brechin and Montrose infirmaries will be safe from closure for the next 5-10 years, and he recognises Stracathro is not a community hospital, and therefore will not be considered as an option.Confusion”It would be reassuring to hear how the board intends to develop our community hospitals, rather than erode them.”
He claimed the blame lay squarely with Angus CHP for any confusion.
“If the Angus CHP had not been developing a single site proposal, which specifically included Stracathro in the option appraisal it was to present to the board, the GPs would have been less concerned.
“It appeared to us that a single site option probably meant two out of three hospitals had to go.”
He said it had been surprising that the CHP had been allowed to get this far with a proposal that clearly was never going to meet the board’s approval, and more surprising that they must have received little initial guidance from the board, given the huge amount of public money spent on the management process so far.
The GPs’ spokesman said the chairman’s assurances over proposed contract changes were also welcome, particularly as they directly contradicted a document the GPs had in front of them.
He said, “We are also surprised to learn this document will modernise our community hospitals, as the BMA has described Tayside Health Board’s handling of the process as unacceptable, and has itself sought a meetin with the board to discuss this.
“After three years, many meetings and many drafts, the CHP have eventually managed to produce a contract which they were advised from the beginning would be rejected.
“As a way forward, it may be helpful if the board could give the CHP clear guidance as to its vision for the future, and what it expects from it, in order that vast amounts of time and money do not continue to be wasted.
“Most stakeholders who have attended the many meetings and events, must be confused by the chairman’s statement, as it bears little relationship to what we have been hearin from the CHP for the last few years.
“Regretfully, this has done nothin to increase our confidence in the management of this process and we still have no recognition of any problem.”
The GPs felt nothing will be gained by meeting the board at present, and believed an independently appointed body was needed to examine the whole process. Without it, they will be no further forward after the 18-month deferment ordered by the board.