Controversial plans to shake-up hospital services in Skye have taken a step forward after the “initial agreement” for the scheme was approved by a Scottish Government body.
The Scottish Capital Investment Group has now invited NHS Highland to submit an outline business case for the redesign of facilities at Broadford and Portree.
Broadford was chosen in 2014 as the location for the main hospital on the island, with the larger community of Portree to host a smaller “spoke” health centre.
But the plans were met with fierce objection from residents over the geographic distribution of the new facilities and proposed scrapping of accident and emergency services in Portree.
In September, campaign group “SOS NHS Skye” delivered a petition to the Scottish Parliament – signed by more than 4,500 people – demanding an independent investigation, and Holyrood’s Public Petitions Committee asked for a review.
NHS Highland said that its team will now concentrate on further developing the clinical model and workforce plan as part of the business case process.
Gill McVicar, director of operations for North and West Highland, said: “This is a significant point in the formal process and brings us one step closer to having a state-of-the-art facility for the people of Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross.
“The new arrangements will also enable us to further develop community services including care-at-home and mental health services, with integrated teams working flexibly to support people at home or in a homely environment for as long as possible, and to reduce the amount of time people have to be in hospital.
“The outline business case will give a more detailed description of the agreed service specification, accommodation requirements and technical aspects of the design. We will continue to work with and involve local people, staff and other providers as this progresses.”
But campaigner and leading economist Professor Ronald MacDonald says the “locational options appraisal” used by NHS Highland did not follow the terms of the Treasury Green Book – appraisal guidance before committing funds – adopted by the Scottish Government.
He added: “This failure of NHS Highland is going to lead to a sub-optimal health provision outcome for the people of this whole area.”
Highlands and Islands MSP (Labour) Rhoda Grant said: “We desperately need a new hospital in Skye, so the fact they are getting further down the road with this is something that has to happen.
“There are a lot of questions outstanding that need to be answered, but everyone is in agreement that we need a new hospital.”
