Dr Gray’s ward 4 closure threat ‘shocking’. blasts MSP
A failure to commit to the future of a secure mental health ward has been slammed.
Health Secretary Neil Gray MSP warned that he was unable to “give any firm commitments” about stopping the closure of Elgin’s under-threat mental health ward.
The comments came after a document, presented at a Moray Integration Joint Board (MIJB) meeting earlier this year, revealed that “Ward 4 at Dr Gray’s Hospital can no longer be maintained as an inpatient service”.
Buckie-based Highlands and Islands Conservative MSP Tim Eagle described the comments as “shocking”.
He said: “These comments from Neil Gray are exactly the opposite of what people in Moray want to hear about mental health provision here. I have been contacted by a number of locals who recognise the vital importance of this ward.
“Frankly, it’s shocking that even the Cabinet Secretary for Health is unable to reassure the Moray community about the capacity of our hospital to adequately look after people who need care, locally and close to their families.
“Neil Gray is at the top of the tree and ultimately the buck stops with him for ensuring that Dr Gray’s delivers the range of services you would expect of a general hospital serving such a large area. Local residents and NHS staff deserve better than this.”
The report put before the MIJB, which provides details of an ongoing review of mental health provision across NHS Grampian, suggested that patients requiring inpatient mental health care could be sent to Royal Cornhill Hospital in Aberdeen.
It adds that the review will have to consider the “number of beds at RCH that will be required to accommodate Moray patients”, along with “the development of a community response in Moray”.
A meeting of the MIJB in March 2024 heard that safety inspectors could “lose their patience” and sanction NHS Grampian over the risk of self-harm posed by patients in Ward 4.
Plans to improve the safety of the mental health unit had previously been agreed, as part of a Scottish Government-funded project which would also see Dr Gray’s Hospital receive a new MRI scanner. However, these have been stalled since January 2024 - after the Scottish Government indefinitely pulled funding for both bundled projects.
During his recent visit to Dr Gray’s Hospital, the Health Secretary was given a tour of Ward 4 and confirmed he had discussed the “concerns” about the unit with nurses and senior staff.
He argued that a lack of funding from Westminster posed “challenges” to Holyrood’s capital budgets, and NHS Grampian needed to consider “what options there are to remove those concerns” at Ward 4.
“The challenges, in a capital sense, remain in terms of how our budgets are affected by decisions that are taken at Westminster,” Mr Gray commented.
“However, I'm keen to take the responsibility that I have - and that Grampian has - to make sure that we have facilities that meet the needs of the patients that they are here to serve.
“So we did have a conversation around ward 4, around the concerns that have been raised, and there is further work to be done by Grampian to look at what options there are to remove those concerns.
“To see a more appropriate service being delivered going forward.
“And I have given a commitment to continue to work with Grampian on ensuring that is the case.”
