Humza Yousaf to meet with north-east politicians over rural health crisis

Two Conservative politicians said they are pushing for a "concrete plan" for community services in parts of the north-east to fully re-open. Some health centres have been affected by staffing issues.

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09:30, 7 JAN 2023

Humza Yousaf will meet with two north-east politicians (Image: PA)

Health Secretary Humza Yousaf is to hold talks with two north-east politicians about the state of health services in parts of Aberdeenshire.

A lack of beds and staff shortages are among the issues on the table at the meeting between Mr Yousaf and Conservative politicians Alexander Burnett and Andrew Bowie.

The pair have said they will push for a "concrete plan" for community services to fully re-open and the meeting is to be held on January 12.

The summit comes after issues with staffing numbers at Aboyne and Glen O'Dee after the mothballing of Insch War Memorial Hospital. The Scolty ward at Glen O'Dee previously closed with Mr Yousaf saying that decision was "not taken lightly".

A 1,000-person consultation called for further investment in Deeside and Upper Donside but a proposed redesign of health and social care in the area has been shelved.

Mr Burnett, the MSP for Aberdeenshire West, said: "There has long been a concern over the closure of community hospitals in our constituencies, and we wanted to put that disquiet to Humza Yousaf.

“I recognise the difficult time for healthcare teams in Deeside and further afield, who I know are doing the utmost to provide excellent patient care, and I thank them for all their hard work.

“People want investment at Aboyne and Glen O’Dee and that needs to be in people more than the facilities which are excellent. More than 18 months after Nicola Sturgeon pledged to reopen Insch, the lights are still off, and I also intend to ask Humza how far advanced his plans are to make good on this promise.”

West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine MP Mr Bowie said: “The health partnership scrapped a service redesign that was undoubtedly aimed at Glen O’ Dee and Aboyne.

“This was the right thing to do and the overwhelming public response underlined that. We’re constantly told how many staff there are in NHS Scotland - hotly contested by the BMA - but that is no comfort to people in the north-east who often have to travel long distances to see a doctor, attend minor injuries or get a place for loved ones who need dementia care.

“So I’ll be asking Humza how his ‘rural workforce recruitment strategy’ is being tailored for the needs of people in the north east, and when it will finally start running.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "The situation we find ourselves in is not unique to Scotland and is the result of pandemic backlogs, Brexit-related staff shortages and increases in winter viruses such as flu which has seen recent a significant rise in the last few weeks – making this winter the most challenging the NHS has ever faced.

“We have record numbers of NHS staff and are recruiting more as part of our £600million winter plan and £50million targeting A&E waits through services that allow patients to be treated at home or in the community.”

The Scottish Government said it has a " range of initiatives and incentives" in order to recruit and retain staff in remote, rural and island communities.