SNP Health Secretary Humza Yousaf admitted NHS Grampian’s shock public plea for staff to come in on their day off to plug gaps over winter should “never be the norm”.
The under-pressure health board took the unprecedented step of putting out an appeal for staff on social media during the Christmas break due to the “extreme level of pressure”.
Mr Yousaf responded to the angry reaction as he was tackled at Holyrood on a winter healthcare crisis affecting the whole country – including long-standing concerns in the Highlands and north-east.
A series of public petitions from people across the north are being heard at parliament, including:
- Women having to travel hundreds of miles for treatment.
- Problems recruiting and retaining staff in rural areas.
- Winter pressures damaging rural and island health board performance.
‘Workforce is exhausted’
Appearing before MSPs on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf said resorting to asking staff to come into work on their days off is not normal.
NHS Grampian put out the plea on Facebook and Twitter on December 30 because of the “number of acutely ill patients arriving at hospital”.
We are asking all staff who are not working – and may be on annual leave – but would be available to work, to contact Site and Capacity as soon as possible.
We appreciate this is a big ask, especially this time of year, and greatly appreciate any additional support you can give.— NHS Grampian (@NHSGrampian) December 30, 2022
At the time Inverness-based Dr Iain Kennedy, chair of the British Medical Association, said it showed the NHS is broken.
North East region MSP Tess White called for Mr Yousaf to face the sack.
He said: “I don’t want this because the workforce is exhausted.
“I wouldn’t allow that to become the norm – this was an extreme measure we should never have to repeat.”
Moray maternity services anger
Concerns during Tuesday’s hours-long meeting ranged across the country.
Mr Yousaf was also asked to explain why woman were left having to give birth in laybys on the A96 because of a lack of maternity services in Moray.
The maternity unit at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin was downgraded in 2018.
Since then most women in Moray have had to go to either Aberdeen Maternity Hospital or Raigmore Hospital in Inverness to give birth.
At least two women have been forced to give birth in laybys in the last year alone.
Sandesh Gulhane MSP, who is also a GP, asked if Mr Yousaf would be comfortable driving his “pregnant partner screaming in the back” to hospital on the A96 in the winter.
Mr Yousaf said: “This is not a situation I would want my wife or I to be in.
“But the safety of women and their unborn children is at the centre of our thinking and we can’t in good conscience say there will be a consultant-led service there tomorrow.”
He said making unrealistic promises would put women at “very serious harm”.
Recruiting staff to rural areas
The health secretary was also pressed on what the Scottish Government is doing to recruit more staff in remote and rural areas.
Mr Yousaf conceded this is one of the biggest issues for healthcare outside the Central Belt.
He said since 2019, £7 million has been spent on recruiting GPs to rural practices, including offering a £20,000 bursary, having a graduate-entry medical programme with a rural focus, and a pilot scheme to recruit experienced GPs to rural practices.
He added training more doctors and nurses in rural areas will encourage them to stay once they qualify, and added the lack of affordable housing in these areas needs to be tackled to make working in these health boards a more attractive option
He added it is important the government also looks at staff retention as there is “no point filling a leaky bucket”.
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