TWO new health boards have come into being in Scotland. Both hope it will be business as usual, only better. This is also the wish of Andy Kerr, the health minister. NHS GreaterGlasgow and Clyde, an amalgamation of the old NHS Greater Glasgow and the lion's share of the formerArgyll and Clyde board, is now the biggest health service organisation in this country. NHS Highland has absorbed the parts of Argyll and Clyde within Argyll and Bute Council's boundaries.
In financial terms, Argyll and Clyde had become a basket case, accruing debts that threatened to cripple services. Dividing it between two boards in better financial health will mean Argyll and Clyde's GBP80m losses being wiped out by the Scottish Executive. Cause for cautious celebration, then? Both new boards were correct not to make a fuss about their emergence, for one compelling reason. There is no guarantee that redrawing boundaries on existing lines will result in the taxpayers' money being better spent or services for patients being improved.
Anne Hawkins, who was in charge of grafting the bulk of Argyll and Clyde on to Greater Glasgow, tells The Herald today that the exercise will result in another review of hospital services in the now-defunct health board area. Vale of Leven Hospital and Inverclyde Royal Infirmary, Greenock, had been downgraded by Argyll and Clyde, which earmarked the Royal Alexandra Hospital (RAH) in Paisley as its top hospital. But the RAH's proximity to the planned multi-discipline "super-hospital" at the Southern General site in Glasgow under the new arrangements means that its long-term viability could be put in doubt.
As for the other element in the Argyll and Bute carve-up, will the future of consultants' cover at Lorn and Islands Hospital in Oban be raised again now it is in the same health board as the Belford Hospital in Fort William? Removing cover had been proposed, and withdrawn in the face of public resistance, when there were two boards. Under one, will this be seen as a cost too far?
Reorganising hospital services on existing boundary lines could be the equivalent of jumping from the frying pan into the fire. There is a certain inevitability about the scenario, not just in these cases but in other areas where the exercise is conducted on health board lines, but where the impact has a much wider effect on patients and the public. GreaterGlasgow is not part of the controversial proposals for accident and emergency (A&E) provision in Lanarkshire but, depending on the outcome, it will see an influx of emergency patients - as it, too, rationalises A&E. It is a recipe for potential chaos. If ministers are serious about making the (as yet unmade) case for a mix of centralised and locally-provided health services, reorganisation from the top down within existing boundary structures is not the way to do it. There is a bigger picture they must see.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article