Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has criticised the First Minister after he again failed to meet Portree Hospital campaigners while on a flying visit to the island last week.
John Swinney was on Skye on Saturday trying to win votes for the SNP’s local council candidate but didn’t meet with local Skye SOS - NHS campaigners over failures to deliver promised Urgent Care provision at Portree Hospital.
Mr Halcro Johnston met with campaigners last Monday in Portree and had attempted to raise the issue at First Minister’s Question last Thursday but wasn’t called by Holyrood’s Presiding Officer. The Scottish Conservative MSP said he agreed with Skye SOS - NHS campaigners who said Mr Swinney’s failure to meet them was “rubbing salt in the wound”.
Mr Halcro Johnston also criticised the SNP’s local council candidate who, on social media site X, appeared to claim John Swinney meeting local SNP activists and speaking to Radio Skye was an adequate substitute for meeting local campaigners.
Mr Halcro Johnston said:
“It has been over a year since the Scottish Conservatives raised the case of Eilidh Beaton and the terrifying incident she experienced at First Minister’s Questions.
“John Swinney accepted her treatment has not been good enough. He apologised, promised action and claimed that urgent care would be restored at Portree as Sir Lewis Ritchie recommended.
“But that simply hasn’t happened and NHS Highland have now admitted what those who live on Skye and who have tried to access urgent care already knew; that their model for urgent care simply isn’t working.
“So it is remarkable that the First Minister – on his latest flying visit to Skye – has again failed to meet with local campaigners who are so worried about what this failure to deliver urgent care means for them and their families.
“Surely John Swinney could have found time to sit down with Skye SOS - NHS and listened to their concerns over the Scottish Government’s and NHS Highland’s failure to deliver what he explicitly promised only a year ago to deliver?
“We know that worrying incidents are still happening – including some involving children. And it is vitally important that what was promised is put into place before it is too late.
“Unfortunately, as well as anger at the failure to deliver a workable urgent care model, there seems to be a growing concern from the local community that this is not a priority for either the SNP government or NHS Highland.
“And some local residents are now questioning whether Portree Hospital is even considered by the health board as part of their plans to deliver health services to people living in the north of Skye.
“John Swinney could have addressed all of these concerns and others by taking a few minutes out of his SNP campaigning and met with Skye SOS – NHS campaigners. He could have reassured them face-to-face that he would, finally, take this seriously and ensure that the action needed to deliver a sustainable and workable model was delivered.
“But he didn’t. He focused on trying to deliver votes for his SNP candidate and not on delivering the urgent care provision he promised.
“That is shameful and people living on Skye deserve better”.
Mr Halcro Johnston confirmed that he would try again this Thursday to raise the issue at First Minister’s Questions.
