There are not enough hospitals in Scottish towns and even less out of hours services. This is not acceptable for the people of Scotland.
I believe towns with a certain number of residents should automatically qualify for a hospital within that town. Out of hours services should be provided for smaller towns.
I live in Cumbernauld and will use Cumbernauld as a prime example. Cumbernauld is the largest town in North Lanarkshire and the 10th largest town in Scotland, yet it has no hospital or out of hours services.
Monklands hospital is to be rebuilt and NHS North Lanarkshire has rejected Cumbernauld on the basis that it would detract from another hospital in a different region (Forth Valley Royal Hospital, Larbert). The residents of Cumbernauld are actively discouraged from using this hospital and others have never even heard of it.
Instead NHS North Lanarkshire are looking at Gartcosh as a potential site. This location that is nearer Glasgow Royal Infirmary than Cumbernauld is to Forth Valley Royal Hospital. A local business man offered a piece of land in Cumbernauld for FREE which was rejected by NHS North Lanarkshire.
At the moment the residents of Cumbernauld have no out of hours services and have to travel to all corners of North Lanarkshire to access any kind of healthcare (Wishaw; Motherwell; Coatbridge; Airdrie - all incidentally towns that have adequate healthcare facilities). With no transport links to these towns, residents without a car are thinking twice before accessing these services as they know the costs involved in reaching them. This is completely unacceptable.
It’s not just Cumbernauld that has inadequate healthcare facilities, many towns in Scotland are suffering. I think this should be looked at with a view to amending the situation and ensure each town has a hospital large enough to accommodate the population.
Everyone in Scotland deserves healthcare that is accessible to all.