Councillors attack 'discriminatory' GP out-of-hours cuts

Councillors from all parties have lined up to slam the cuts, accusing NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde of creating a two tier healthcare system and treating people in Inverclyde as second class citizens.

They hit out during a full council meeting which came directly after a briefing by health board bosses setting out their intention to reduce face to face access to only limited hours at the weekends.

If the controversial proposals get the go-ahead when the health board meets next week, Inverclyde will be the only centre in Greater Glasgow and Clyde without a full GP-out-hours service, forcing people to make a 50-mile round trip outwith the area to see a doctor.

Elected members are now writing to health secretary Neil Gray demanding he intervenes.

Councillor Jim Clocherty, a former health board member, said: "In 2020 Greater Glasgow and Clyde put GP out-of-hours into special measures to stabilise the service and make sure it was more robust.

"Over four years later we found out that the service to Inverclyde is still not going to the same as other areas. This puts Inverclyde at a disadvantage from every other area in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

"How can Greater Glasgow and Clyde believe it is right that the poorest area they look after be given less of a service than their more affluent areas?

"It is up to us as elected members to stand up and say it is not acceptable. We want GP out-of-hours to be reinstated and GPs should be able to cover Inverclyde 24/7.

"All we are asking for is the same as every other area, no more or no less. But for an area with some of the greatest health inequalities and the greatest levels of poverty to have a lesser service, it is a shame."

Councillor Natasha McGuire added that they will not settle for anything less than a full seven day a week service.

She added: "Why should the people of Inverclyde have to do a 50-mile round trip for necessary healthcare? Why are the people of Inverclyde not as worthy of others to have local access to care?

"Why do people in Glasgow get access to care within 20 minutes, with only eight miles between three Glasgow sites, but we need to travel three times as long just because we are from Inverclyde?

"We need to make it absolutely clear that that the proposals are discriminatory, creating health inequalities and have a disproportionate impact on the people of Inverclyde."

SNP group leader Elizabeth Robertson said: "We absolutely need to fight this. The things that other parts of Greater Glasgow and Clyde have, we are not going to be getting.

"We have entrenched, stubborn, generational health issues and a demotion of service on any level is not going to help us move them in the right direction. We saw literally every other part of the health board area given the same service except Inverclyde, and for what reason?"

During the debate Councillor Colin Jackson told the meeting that he recently took his six month old grandson to out of hours and had to travel to the QEU hospital in Glasgow.

He added: "I had to drive by Inverclyde Royal and three health centres within the town to go and see an out of hours doctor.

"This is all about poverty and inequality. People living in our poorest areas have the poorest health outcomes and therefore have more need to see a doctor out of hours."

The health board has seven patient transport vehicles to cover the whole health board area.

Cllr Jackson  said: "A lot of people who cannot afford their own transport are going to cancel the appointment and wait to see the GP the next day and end up sicker.

"Many people in Inverclyde don't have access to cars, they are going to be classed as second class citizens and we are going to have a two tier health service.

"We need to stop this, we have to remember we represent one of the poorest communities in Scotland and this is going to affect them adversely."

Health board bosses were ordered by watchdogs to carry out a public consultation on their out-of-hours shakeup last year following opposition to the cuts in Inverclyde.

A motion by Cllr Clocherty demanding a seven day service in Inverclyde was passed unanimously and a letter will now be sent to health secretary, as well as both NHS GGC chief executive Jane Grant and chair Lesley Thomson.