RELATIONS between Highland Regional Council and Highland Health Board
have begun to improve after months of strain over the health board's
proposals for care in the community.
However, a leading critic of the board's approach warned that
communities throughout the Highlands had to remain vigilant and be ready
to fight to defend their local hospitals, which could still be under
threat.
Yesterday, Highland convener Duncan McPherson issued a statement
welcoming confirmation from health board chairman John Robertson that in
developing draft local hospital plans, the board is prepared to take
into account council concerns about the future of long-term care of
elderly and disabled people.
Mr McPherson had been in correspondence with Mr Robertson over the
board's draft plans for the transfer to the regional council of
responsibility for services to those people for whom care in the
community is deemed more appropriate than hospital care, in line with
Government policy.
Over the past year, there had been widespread alarm at the health
board's apparent enthusiasm for reducing the number of long-stay beds in
local hospitals. However, shortly before Christmas, it became clear the
board was having a rethink, understood to be due in part to pressure
from the Scottish Office.
Yesterday, Mr McPherson said that Mr Robertson had confirmed the board
would not reduce or withdraw local hospital facilities unless local
alternative services, equivalent at least to those currently provided,
were available.
He also welcomed the assurance that, in determining the level of
future hospital provision, the board would also give further
consideration to estimates for the growth of the elderly population, and
would do so in liaison with regional officials.
This followed a similar assurance given by the board's chief
administrative medical officer, Dr Gordon Stone, to a huge public
meeting at Edinbane in Skye in the middle of last month.
Mr McPherson said yesterday: ''The health board has a job to do in
reviewing its hospital provision in the light of the change, and we have
a job to do in determining our policy in providing community care
services for elderly people for whom hospital care may not be
appropriate.''
Dr Iain Glen, consultant psychiatrist and regional councillor for
Cairngorm, however, struck a cautionary note: ''It would appear that
there has been some movement from the board's over-zealous
interpretation of the terms of the Community Care Act, which was known
to have concerned the Scottish Office and certainly alarmed everyone
living in the Highlands. But we should remember that their is still
enormous pressure to reduce the long-term beds in local hospitals, and
we will have to ensure that needs of the local communities are
protected.''
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