'Astonishing' email error from NHS Grampian alluding to the closure of Hopeman and Burghead GP surgeries is slammed by Moray MP Douglas Ross
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AN EMAIL error from NHS Grampian that alluded to the closure of GP surgeries in Hopeman and Burghead has been labelled "absolutely astonishing".
NHS Grampian's chief executive Caroline Hiscox was sending correspondence to Moray's Conservative MP Douglas Ross, and Save Our Surgeries campaigners, when she made an error that the MP has described as "remarkable".
Ms Hiscox email stated that the consultation on the future of the surgeries – which remains unclear – was "not to ask people to vote on whether the surgeries should remain open, but whether or not mitigation measures had sufficiently addressed concerns".
The email prompted a furious response from Save our Surgeries campaigners, who wondered if NHS Grampian had not been telling them the truth all along about the consultation.
However, in a “remarkable” error, Mr Ross has received a further update from Simon Bokor-Ingram, the Chief Officer of Health and Social Care Moray, who claims the word 'only' was missing from the email.
He claims the text should have read: "Not ONLY to ask people to vote on whether the surgeries should remain open, but whether or not mitigation measures had sufficiently addressed concerns".
Douglas says NHS Grampian bosses owe local residents in Burghead and Hopeman an “urgent apology” for the mistake and said many local people will think the change in the wording is because the health board have been caught out.
Mr Ross said: “While NHS Grampian claim they missed out a word in their letter to me, many local residents believe they are covering up for making their true position known in a public document.
“The community voted overwhelmingly to support the retention of these two practices but from their initial response to me the Chief Executive of NHS Grampian suggested it was never the intention to gauge the support of keeping these surgeries open.
“It looks as though NHS Grampian have failed to be upfront all along about their consultation. Now the health board have only created unnecessary confusion, by embarrassingly claiming that they missed out a key detail in the first place.
“Questions will continue to be asked over why the letter was signed off with this wording, and if it did in fact reflect the views of NHS Grampian or any senior managers within the Health Board.
“They owe the communities of Burghead and Hopeman an urgent apology for this and a full and frank explanation."
Save Our Surgeries spokesperson, sarcastically, stated: "We have to say we accept their apology because obviously everybody makes mistakes..."
