Ayrshire patients in need of emergency vascular care will have to travel to East Kilbride from next month.
Changes are being made to vascular surgery services which will see those across the region who require more complex inpatient vascular procedures receive treatment at University Hospital Hairmyres (UHH) in East Kilbride from August 1.
This includes patients who require emergency care or a procedure which involves an overnight stay in hospital.
The move is part of a regional hub arrangement between NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Dumfries & Galloway, and will see shared delivery of vascular services with the creation of a Regional Centre of Excellence for Vascular Surgery at UHH.
Jacqueline Nicol, interim acute services operational director, said the “regional hub arrangement is a gold standard service.”
She said: “The majority of the vascular service will continue to be delivered within NHS Ayrshire & Arran - this includes all non-arterial day case activity and outpatient services.
“While patients who require emergency care or a procedure which involves an overnight stay in hospital will have to travel to University Hospital Hairmyres for treatment, this really will ensure that they have access to the most appropriate and clinically safe vascular services at all times.”
Inpatients within NHS Ayrshire & Arran who require ongoing acute vascular care after August 1 will be transferred to UHH. Following their inpatient stay in UHH, patients will be discharged home, when this is appropriate.
If a patient no longer requires acute vascular care but is not fit to go home, patients will transfer to the most appropriate healthcare setting based on their ongoing needs.
Labour MSP Carol Mochan said: “This is concerning news for many residents across Ayrshire who will be more than a bit surprised they are expected to travel to East Kilbride for some treatments, but particularly in the case of those requiring emergency care.
“That is a long way to travel, especially for those in the south of the Health Board area.
“I understand Health Boards have to pool resources and expertise to improve care but I am afraid a lot of people will view this as more cuts during a time when the Scottish Government are overseeing a staffing and ambulance crisis across the NHS.”
Conservative MSP Sharon Dowey said the move will “deeply concern patients” across the health board, adding: “Yet again, crucial local services are being diverted outwith the region many miles away.”
Fellow Tory colleague Brian Whittle MSP said: “It’s important that these specialised centres do not become an excuse for reducing standards of care elsewhere in the NHS.
“When the NHS is under very real pressure, it’s right that we look at new approaches but the SNP have done nowhere near enough when it comes to restoring and strengthening the NHS.”
SNP MSP Siobhian Brown backed the move and said: “It is extremely important everyone can access to the best possible standards of acute care and this will help deliver that, plus most of the vascular care will continue to be delivered locally.”
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