Save Our Surgeries: Patients aged 82 and 88 join community march
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THE Save Our Surgeries campaign stepped up again last night (May 17) with a protest march in Hopeman.
That followed a similar march in Burghead last week.
Both communities are angry at the continued closure of their GP surgeries since March 20.
People have to travel to the Moray Coast Medical Centre in Lossiemouth for appointments and with no direct bus route, that is a major problem.
Residents from both villages fighting to re-open their GP surgeries came together in force on Wednesday night.
Residents from the surrounding communities of Elgin, Lossiemouth and Duffus joined the villagers at both events to make their voices heard.
The march on Wednesday night was 82-year-old Hopeman resident Kathy Young's first ever protest.
Kathy said: "It's really important that the issue gets sorted. Two bus journeys is not an acceptable travel distance, it's a long day on your feet and it is very difficult for older people, we can't always ask our families and I would struggle to get to the bus stop, never mind Lossie."
The Moray Integration Joint Board (IJB) agreed to keep the surgeries closed for the foreseeable future at a meeting on January 26.
However, it also amended the original recommendation to permanently shut the surgeries, with a review planned after six months.
Cummingston resident Rita Wilkins (88) spoke of the difficulties she has experienced as a result of the closures.
Rita said: "During Covid I was not able to get my needed B12 injections, which I am supposed to have every three months. I'm only just starting my course again now and it took months to get an appointment.
"It's fair to say the closures are affecting me quite a bit and we have got to make our protest felt, this makes seeing a doctor so difficult - not everyone has access to a car and there are a lot of older people in the village who are not able to get the bus."
A spokesperson from the save our surgeries group said: "We are absolutely delighted at the number of people who turned out again tonight for our second protest, the weather definitely didn't dampen resolve and we will fight on until a solution is found."
NHS Grampian has previously said there has been an extensive public consultation and engagement process about the future of the surgeries.
