Raigmore Hospital, David Green (left) Andrew Baxter: NHS Highland oncology crisis leads MSPs to question if right people are in charge.
The NHS Highland oncology staffing crisis that will see delays to the start of treatment and patients moved across Scotland has sparked questions about the health board leadership.
Earlier we revealed that some cancer-fighting Highland patients will face delays or be told to travel elsewhere in Scotland for treatment with no confirmation of financial support in what is feared to be the latest service lost to the area.
The health board confirmed its oncology service is “experiencing significant workforce pressures following the loss of consultant capacity” in an echo of the issues that saw the loss of the vascular service last year.
It comes amid mounting public frustration that those services centralised in Inverness appear to now be less accessible than ever as they move to the south and east of Scotland.
Responding to patients needing radiotherapy treatment for cancer having to travel long distances to access care due to loss of consultant capacity, two Liberal Democrat MSPs have hit out at the government and the health board.
‘Highlanders rightly and understandably expect more of NHS Highland’
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross MSP David Green said: “Time and again, Highland communities are told they have to travel further, wait longer or make do with less. It is deeply worrying that cancer patients could now be added to that list.
“Anyone who lives in the Highlands understands the challenges distance can create, but asking people who are already facing a cancer diagnosis to undertake long journeys for treatment simply cannot be the right answer.
“There are so many problems with this it is hard to know where to start. It’s clear that the current model of Highland healthcare does not work for my constituents.
“I appreciate that elements of this are outside NHS Highland’s control, but that will be of little comfort to patients facing lengthy journeys for treatment.
“Highlanders rightly and understandably expect more of NHS Highland. If the board is unable to deliver core services like this in our region, then real question marks hang over whether the right people are in post.”
While Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Andrew Baxter said: “A health board should have a comprehensive plan and resilience in place for situations like this. I know that recruiting consultants can be a challenge but it should not get to this point.
“Health board bosses need to be pulling every lever to get consultants in place, even on a temporary basis so that there is no interruption in care in the Highlands.
“I would also like to know what SNP ministers think of this? Are they happy for our services to be run into the dust once again?
“Scottish Liberal Democrats will fight tooth and nail to ensure that everyone in the Highlands has access to comprehensive medical services close to them. It’s absurd to be planning to send people hundreds of miles for care elsewhere.”
Yesterday, Scotland’s health secretary Angela Constance told us that “this is an operational decision for NHS Highland.
“The Scottish Government wants people diagnosed with cancer to be treated as close to home as clinically possible. We recognise that NHS Scotland’s oncology capacity has been increasingly tested and continue to work with NHS boards to limit the need for travel where possible and clinically appropriate.
“Where travel is necessary, the Scottish Government expects NHS boards to work collaboratively with each other and transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that the necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way.”
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