Scotland’s Health Secretary is set to look into the possibility of reopening two of the region’s cottage hospitals.
Facilities in Kirkcudbright and Newton Stewart were closed in 2020 after NHS Dumfries and Galloway designated them “step-down facilities” for treating Covid-19 patients.
A campaign was launched late last year in a bid to have them open and allow 36 beds to become available again.
And following pressure from Galloway and West Dumfries MSP Finlay Carson, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf has agreed to look into whether they can be reopened.
During a debate at Holyrood, Mr Yousaf said: “Finlay Carson asks an important question.
“I hope that he appreciates – I think that he does – that really difficult decisions were made during the pandemic, as we needed staff in acute sites that were exceptionally busy.
“He, other members and local health boards are right to push me on whether cottage hospitals could be reopened to tackle, for example, delayed discharge by transferring patients from acute settings to facilities that provide step-down care.
“Our challenge in that regard is staffing, but I will look at the issue.
“In the context of Dumfries and Galloway, I will look at the cottage hospitals that Finlay Carson mentioned.
“I promise him that the possibility of reopening cottage hospitals is being explored in our plans.
Afterwards, Mr Carson said: “These hospitals are key health and social care facilities for large parts of the Stewartry and Wigtownshire and it is vitally important that they are re-opened as soon as
possible.
“I welcome the health secretary’s commitment to explore re-opening these hospitals but he must act swiftly on this. We have a serious problem in Dumfries and Galloway with the delayed discharge of patients from hospitals and access to palliative care facilities which these hospitals could help us to tackle.”
