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Moray's MP clashes with Health Minister over Dr Gray's


By Alistair Whitfield

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WAITING times for patients needing physiotherapy at Dr Gray's Hospital have been branded "unacceptably high" .

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Scotland's Health Secretary Jeane Freeman used this phrase in a reply to an enquiry by Moray's MP.

Douglas Ross had contacted Ms Freeman to raise the case of a woman from Forres who has had to wait for over six months for a physiotherapy appointment at the hospital in Elgin.

In her reply, the Health Secretary wrote: "The Scottish Government provides the policy, frameworks and resources to support the delivery of the services and the NHS Boards determine the level of service they provide based on local priorities and clinical need, but we are always unhappy to read about individual s who do not receive the treatment they feel they deserve.

"We contacted NHS Grampian for confirmed that waiting times for Musculoskeletal (MSK) physiotherapy services overall are unacceptably high due to a number of factors including significant staff vacancies in the area."

Ms Freeman goes on to list in her letter a number of measures to try combat the problem.

These include "proactive recruitment", the use of locum staff, telephone asssessments and working with higher education institutions to promote the North East as an attractive place to live.

Health Secretary Jeane Freeman (left) during a visit to Dr Gray's.
Health Secretary Jeane Freeman (left) during a visit to Dr Gray's.

Ms Freeman added: "While this work develops NHS Grampian can confirm that they are already seeing some positive improvement in waiting times and anticipate further improvements over the coming months."

Douglas Ross with NHS Grampian's chief executive Dr Amanda Croft.
Douglas Ross with NHS Grampian's chief executive Dr Amanda Croft.

Stating his dissatisfaction with the reply, Mr Ross said: "A number of constituents have contacted me in recent months about the unacceptably long waiting lists they have had to endure for physiotherapy appointments.

"With the pain getting worse the lady from Forres had to wait five months before she even got a telephone assessment by the physiotherapy department at Dr Gray’s.

"The letter from the SNP Minister offers the usual platitudes about how the Scottish Government is committed to the provision of high-quality health care, but we see little sign of that.

"The catalogue of failures in our health service continues to grow and the buck stops squarely at the SNP Scottish Government’s door.

"While I recognise that NHS Grampian has taken steps to address the physiotherapy waiting lists, too many people in Moray are still facing extremely long waits for appointments with consultants after being referred by their GP.

"Instead of constantly campaigning for another referendum to separate Scotland from the rest of the UK, the SNP need to get to grips with the issues, such as health, transport and education where their performance to date has been shocking."

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