Health bosses have closed the Urgent Care Centre in Portree due to ongoing staffing pressures.
NHS Highland has launched a “see and treat” model of care from the new Broadford Hospital while service improvements are made in north Skye.
Under the model, all calls will be triaged by NHS24 and patients will be seen where they are if it is required. This could be in a clinical setting or in Broadford Hospital.
Primary care services are also in place between 8am-6pm.
The cutbacks are the latest measures to be imposed by NHS bosses at the facility.
Last week, the urgent care centre was closed during the week – only opening on Saturday and Sunday.
Councillor John Finlayson said he is “deeply concerned” about the implications this closure will have on patients across the region.
He admitted finding a resolution is still very much a work in progress.
‘The answers to resolving this are not clear’
He said: “Today I am attending the Sir Lewis Ritchie Steering Group Progress Meeting and great concern is being expressed about so many issues but in particular the suspension of Urgent Care at Portree Hospital.
“Having another closure on the same day as the progress meeting, is ironic and it is of great concern to so many residents on Skye that there are so many closures.
“The answers to resolving this are not clear but staffing recruitment and retention is central to all that is going on. I like so many residents across Skye and Raasay, are deeply concerned about the impact such closures continue to have on people of all ages and I urge NHS Highland to continue to work with the community to seek solutions.”
The disruption comes just days after the Health Secretary Humza Yousaf officially opened Broadford Hospital.
The facility was one of two community hospitals constructed by Hub North Scotland as part of a £40million project.
Health bosses say efforts to resolve the issue at the Urgent Care Centre are continuing.
An NHS Highland spokesman said: “We are doing everything we can to improve the staffing situation and will provide an update as soon as we can. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
‘Point of crisis’
Councillor Calum Munro said health and social care is at a “point of crisis” in north Skye.
“This is a serious concern to people in our communities for the safety and wellbeing of young and old,” he said. “People in remote and rural areas always bear the burden of greater financial and social cost by the distances they live from medical facilities when they require treatment, be that Broadford, Raigmore or the Belford, but there was always a sense of reassurance for those living in north Skye that there was some out-of-hours provision for them, if necessary, in Portree Hospital.”
Mr Munro believes one of the reasons behind the ongoing staff shortages was the lack of affordable housing in the area.
“What we require is a sustainable and resilient service with the right mix of Scottish Ambulance Service, NHSH clinical staff and NHS 24 working together,” he added. “In addition there needs to be meaningful engagement with the local housing association, The Highland Council, third sector groups and local health campaigners to address the main issues of housing and staff recruitment and retention.”
Councillor Ruraidh Stewart described the situation as a “national disgrace.”
He is calling for military personnel to step in to help meet the demand for care.
“The level of health care provision in North Skye is completely unacceptable. The continual suspension of out-of-hours care is s a national disgrace.
“There have been numerous occasions where local GPs have had to provide emergency treatment in the car park of Portree Hospital. There suggestion that they propose to see and treat patients at Broadford is disingenuous to say the least.
“Patients are being routinely referred on to Raigmore, when presenting at Broadford. This is the equivalent of being sent from Edinburgh to Newcastle. This is why I called on the Cabinet Secretary to consider requesting military assistance to provide critical care, while NHS Highland address its staffing issues.”
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