Speaking following today’s Scottish Parliament Ministerial Statement on Improving Care on the Isle of Skye, Highlands and Islands MSP and convener of the Scottish Parliament Cross-Party Group on Islands Jamie Halcro Johnston said:
“Portree hospital is an essential facility for residents and visitors to north Skye – and local people are right to demand a reliable, sustainable service providing 24-hour urgent care.
“But instead, patients have been faced with frightening examples of local people suffering while doors are closed, and many finding their urgent care needs referred to Broadford.
“That’s why I requested this statement – and I am pleased that we have brought the Scottish Government’s health secretary Neil Gray to answer for the problems that have happened at Portree under his watch.
“The health secretary has assured us that all vacancies for advanced nurse practitioners will be filled with staff in place by the end of the year. If delivered, that will be welcomed – but it falls short of a clear plan to ensure a sustained service for the long-term.
“More assurances from Ministers that problems will be resolved in time simply are not enough when promises to Skye residents have been broken time and again.
“Today in response to my questions, the health secretary stated that a reliable 24-hour urgent care is already in place at Portree – it isn’t – and that NHS Highland has not admitted that its previous model of delivery didn’t work, but rather that it was only ‘challenging’.
“Trust has been lost through this process – and this government’s response today has done little to rebuild it. There must be full transparency from the Scottish Government and NHS Highland on their long-term plans for sustainable services at Portree as a matter of urgency. In the meantime, given the SNP's repeated failure to deliver on the promises they've made to islanders, local communities on Skye will have little faith anything is going to change this time.”
