Ex-pharmacist criticises cuts to Inverclyde GP out-of-hours

Residents attending a series of public consultation drop-ins are warning health board bosses about the threat posed by the cuts.

The previous set-up was temporarily suspended back in February 2020, with patients being sent to Paisley's RAH, sparking a petition signed by 5,000 people.

But the Tele revealed in January how talks about making the changes permanent were going on behind closed doors.

The health board was subsequently asked to hold a full consultation.

At the latest consultation session, held in Gourock's Coppermine Community Centre, local people voiced their opposition against moving the service to Paisley's RAH permanently, with only limited hours cover being provided at IRH on Saturdays and public holidays.

Retired pharmacist Janet Turner, who lives in Greenock, said: "I am concerned that this is being served up as a done deal, it has been decided.

"It is a fact that what we had here pre-Covid was better than what we are now being offered.

"This is about centralisation of services from Inverclyde to other sites in Greater Glasgow.

"This does not help people in Inverclyde at all.

"I want to make sure our voices are being heard.

"I would question why the centre cannot be based in Inverclyde instead of Paisley.

"Why can't people from Paisley come here for a change if people in Inverclyde are expected to travel to other sites in Greater Glasgow and Clyde?"

Frances Cassidy, from Wemyss Bay, also attended the drop-in to express her concerns.

She said: "I am not in favour of these changes at all. I have had experience of the new set up and it is not good.

"I had to take a relative to out of hours and we were sent all the way to Paisley and then to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital because that is where he needed to be.

"There should be a full out-of-hours service in Inverclyde."

The health board has defended the changes and argue that they will have a positive impact.

Allen Stevenson, NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde's interim director of primary care, says that patients being channelled through NHS 24 as a first point of contact ensures people are always directed to the most appropriate type of care within the right environment, at the right time.

The health board says that the switch in 2020 has ensured 'a more stable appointment-based model', reduced waiting times and led to fewer unplanned closures. They also say they have recorded a high degree of satisfaction from those accessing the service.

The board has highlighted figures showing that 93 per cent of those who'd accessed the service said it met their needs, up from 83 per cent in 2021.

The last public engagement session run by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde takes place in Port Glasgow on Tuesday November 14 at the Boglestone Community Centre in Port Glasgow from 5 to 7pm.

So far nearly 2,000 people have responded to an online survey on the proposals.

Anyone wishing to fill it out can do so at www.nhsggc.scot/gpooh/engagement