Briggs: NHS Lothian accounts for almost a quarter of Delayed Discharge in Scotland

NHS Lothian accounts for almost a quarter of Delayed Discharge in Scotland

Delayed discharge costs our NHS over £100 million per year, with NHS Lothian accounting for £28 million of the total. That means less money to spend on treating patients who require medical attention, while patients awaiting discharge are being kept in hospital for longer than they need to be, says Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs. Continue reading Briggs: NHS Lothian accounts for almost a quarter of Delayed Discharge in Scotland

Local Cleft Palate Clinics closed despite SNP government promises

When Health Secretary Shona Robison announced in 2016 the closure of the East of Scotland cleft surgery unit in Edinburgh – which Lothian MSP Miles Briggs and parents campaigned hard against – she reassured people that “local outreach clinics, will continue to be delivered locally as they are now, across Scotland.”   https://news.gov.scot/news/cleft-surgery-recommendation

A Written Answer (see below) shows that in two areas local clinics stopped altogether in 2017 with no indication of when they might start again. This means extra travelling and inconvenience for families, as well as having limited dates when they can be seen.

There has been a reduction in the number of Multi-Disciplinary Clinics (MDC) in Edinburgh, with only fortnightly appointments available.

The service is also still short of the third surgeon that it needs.

Conservative health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP said: “It is very apparent that the SNP Ministers decision to centralise the Cleft Palate Service has been a disaster.

“The families of babies and young people who require the service are the ones losing with an inferior service being provided.

“I am particularly concerned that parents are being forced to travel so far for appointments, often having to make longer journeys than the recommended limit for new born babies.”

Evonne McLatchie, lead campaigner to save the Edinburgh cleft unit, comments: “Parents in the East are angry but not the least surprised as the promises Ms Robison made were as predicted not worth the paper they were printed on.

“Many families in the East don’t even have correct contact details and it is parents that are driving patient reviews and consultations for their children having to resort to asking questions on Facebook to get answers for their concerns and then chasing up appointments.

“Shona Robison stated repeatedly that centralisation would improve care, especially if a surgeon was off- that has yet to be proven!

“The majority of parents are afraid to voice concerns as they have to work with the service for perhaps the next 20 years and despite assurances that any complaint won’t affect care they simply don’t want to risk it.”

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Crisis: single GP surgeries ‘under threat,’ says Briggs

 

Lothian MSP Miles Briggs has been contacted by constituents who are expressing serious concerns about the future of the single GP practice at Sighthill Health centre. Continue reading Crisis: single GP surgeries ‘under threat,’ says Briggs

Briggs urges progress on cross-boundary health planning

Briggs Calls for More Progress on Development of New Edinburgh and South East of Scotland Centre

Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs spoke in the Procurement debate at Holyrood yesterday. The Lothian MSP spoke on improving and promoting regional procurement, using the example of when a number of health boards or local authorities pool resources to construct Regional Centres or projects that go across council boundaries. Continue reading Briggs urges progress on cross-boundary health planning

NHS Lothian A&E waiting times worst in Scotland over February

Latest figures have revealed that NHS Lothian is the worst performing Health Board in Scotland for A & E waiting times. Tory health spokesman Miles Briggs MSP says it’s another example of SNP Ministers failing people in Lothian. Continue reading NHS Lothian A&E waiting times worst in Scotland over February

Pennywell All Care Centre: what’s in that shiny new building?

Pennywell All Care Centre (formerly North West Partnership Centre) opened to the public on 18th December and will be officially opened later this month. The new Centre will provide a range of health and social care services, including new GP accommodation (Muirhouse Medical Group has opened a new branch surgery to complement their Muirhouse Avenue practice), podiatry and child health services. Continue reading Pennywell All Care Centre: what’s in that shiny new building?

Tories are bad for your health, Macpherson warns

Tory tax proposals could mean cuts of up to £74.2M in NHS Lothian, according to new Scottish Government analysis.

With the Scottish Parliament set to vote on Stage 1 of the budget this month, the Tories are proposing tax cuts for high earners that would leave a £500 million hole in the budget. With health receiving the largest share of devolved spending, a £500 million fall in available spending would see the NHS in the firing line – and NHS Lothian could lose up to £74.2M.

SNP MSP Ben Macpherson said: “Under the SNP, the NHS has record staffing and record funding – and the draft Scottish Government budget would see that funding increased. 

“But this investment is only possible because of decisions taken by the Scottish Government, with progressive policies seeing higher earners paying slightly more to support our public services. 

“Ruth Davidson’s Tory tax plans would blow a £500 million hole in the Scottish Government’s budget – this would be another Tory cut to Scotland’s public spending, on top of the £2.6bn of cuts that the Tory UK government are already imposing on Scotland over a decade of Westminster austerity. 

“Scottish Conservative policies would damage public services in our capital city, including cuts to the NHS, and their Tory cuts would be equivalent to cutting 1777 nurses in our region – the Tories should explain why they’d prefer to give a handout to millionaires than to fund our hospitals.” 

 Territorial Board

£501 million reduction

Equivalent number of nurses

£m

Ayrshire and Arran

-37.1

888

Borders

-10.5

251

Dumfries and Galloway

-14.9

356

Fife

-34.1

816

Forth Valley

-27.2

651

Grampian

-49.5

1185

Greater Glasgow & Clyde

-111.9

2680

Highland

-32.3

773

Lanarkshire

-61.9

1482

Lothian

-74.2

1777

Orkney

-2.4

57

Shetland

-2.5

59

Tayside

-39.3

941

Western Isles

-3.3

79

Total

-501.0

12000

 

 

BHF awards Edinburgh scientists over half a million pounds to determine best treatment after heart attack

Every 20 minutes someone goes to hospital in Scotland due to heart attack

Nearly 20,000 people in Scotland will be included in a clinical trial to determine the best drug treatment after suffering a heart attack. The trial is being funded by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) which has awarded a grant of £630,000 to BHF Professor of Cardiology David Newby and his team at the University of Edinburgh. Continue reading BHF awards Edinburgh scientists over half a million pounds to determine best treatment after heart attack