DECISIONS on the future roles of four of the region’s cottage hospitals are due to be taken at a meeting next week.
An extraordinary meeting of the health board’s Integration Joint Board (IJB) will be held on Tuesday 29 October to consider options for Moffat, Thornhill, Newton Stewart and Kirkcudbright.
Options for consideration range from reinstating inpatient care to closing the hospitals completely and selling off the land.
David Rowland is director of strategic planning and transformation for Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership (DGHSCP). He has stated that the health board are aware of the community’s desire to see something done with each of the facilities, and said: “As a Health and Social Care Partnership, we’re very conscious of a desire from the IJB, staff, public and stakeholders to have a clear plan for the four cottage hospitals in Moffat, Thornhill, Newton Stewart and Kirkcudbright.
“Over the last two years a very large amount of work has taken place engaging with communities, staff and stakeholders – leading to a point where we’ve consulted on a range of options and are now making recommendations to the IJB.”
Interim chief officer of DGHSCP Nicole Hamlet affirmed that the health board has recommended that each cottage hospital be kept and redeveloped.
She added: “To be explicit – our clear recommendation to the IJB is to retain these important facilities, and see them developed as community hubs to offer a wider range of out-patient services and treatments, making them more accessible for local people.
“Ultimately, the decisions sit with the IJB, who will consider all of the information and the recommendations at their meeting next week.
“We very much hope that everyone will recognise the very great care which has been taken to consider the best use of these cottage hospitals in the future.”
However, South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has criticised the report as ‘ignoring’ the need for in-patient services across the region.
He said: “Those who use and deliver services have made it clear in the consultation that there is a role for our community hospitals in providing inpatient care, so it is deeply disappointing that once again officials in the local NHS are simply ignoring the public. I hope the members of the IJB don’t do the same.
“No one expects us to go back the old cottage hospital model and of course each community hospital should be used as a local health hub.
“We routinely have more than a hundred people in our acute hospitals every day who shouldn’t be there because of delayed discharge, yet the local NHS and council want to reject the option of using our community hospitals, at least in the short term, as step down facilities to provide rehabilitation for people as part of their discharge.
“Let us be in no doubt that if the IJB agrees not to reopen these four hospitals to inpatients, the next step will be to permanently close Lochmaben, Annan, Langholm and Castle Douglas to inpatient services. Had any of those community hospital been shut during covid they would have suffered the same fate and it is only matter of time before they do.”
Fellow MSP Finlay Carson has also spoken out, warning the IJB to not to ‘let them down again’ following the unpopular decision to not re-establish maternity services at Galloway Community Hospital.
Mr Carson added: “Don’t make the same mistake and listen to the people!
“I would encourage the board to take full cognisance of the views of the people when it comes to deciding on the future role of these much-loved cottage hospitals.
“The consultation process probably attracted the biggest turn-out of the public in years and demonstrated the strong affinity they have with these four hospitals.
“The IJB must ensure it does not let them down again. They must listen for once and not ignore what the local residents want when it comes to health services.”
