Extra information about the overnight usage of Chalmers Hospital’s minor injury unit has been issued ahead of a decision on its future.
The Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) will soon be revealing a detailed paper on recommended changes for the unit.
It was previously confirmed the review will not lead to the closure of the Banff hospital, but there are still fears the service may be downgraded or have its hours cut.
The decision by the integration joint board (IJB) was postponed in June to allow for more information to be gathered and, at an event yesterday, the data was released, in advance of the meeting next week.
Posters showed that, during a six-month period, 2,282 people used the MIU, 418 of those in out-of-hours times.
But the posters claimed 128 of those were inappropriate patients who were ill, had severe injuries or were in medical emergencies.
Councillor Glen Reynolds attended the event and was left “deeply disturbed” after speaking to Chalmers staff and the public.
He has called for the reasoning behind the possible changes to be released.
He said: “I heard that staff are very unhappy at any proposal to change the hours of the unit and they feel they were not consulted, nor were they listened to.
“Nobody appears to know what the driver is for this issue. If it’s not economic, I struggle to see the logic of decreasing hours to help the level and standard of MIU care.
“How can that happen? Patient care is paramount and many of the staff in the unit have recently been commended for their long service.
“If they have not be listened to or adequately consulted, that is a disgrace.”
People were unsure about the information session with several asking how they can give feedback.
Councillor John Cox said: “This was an important part of the engagement and I’m not sure it was what people expected as many seemed hopeful they could give feedback.
“But this was to look at the further analysis of the use figures for Chalmers.
“There should be a project board with the NHS and some of the friends group, so Chalmers can become a centre of excellence which is what I want to see going forward.”
Sharing the data with the public was Mark Simpson, partnership manager for North Aberdeenshire.
He said: “No decision has been made yet, but at the IJB meeting next week, it is anticipated a decision will be made on the opening hours.
“The partnership is committed to the hospital and any change will only be to the minor injury unit, not to any other department.”
The IJB will meet on August 28.