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Cutbacks

A petition has been launched in support of our NHS staff and patients as they face the effects of the Scottish Executive's NHS financial crisis. The petition - which you can sign here - calls for an end to the cutbacks, and calls for local people to be put back in control of NHS services. Outlined below is a summary of these cutbacks across Scotland.

Over the years, NHS staff and the services they provide have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. But sadly, the Labour/Lib Dem Scottish Executive continues with its shameless cost-cutting exercise. There can be little doubt that such stringent programme of cutbacks across Scotland, without anything to replace them, will seriously damage the standard of patient care.

Patients, nurses and doctors should not have to put up with Labour and the Liberal Democrats' botched reorganisations, cutbacks and closures. People in your area should not be paying the price of centralised policy failures. The design of local NHS services should be a matter for local people, but instead key decisions are being taken away from them, behind closed doors and without consultation. We need local people back in control of our NHS services, and fairer funding for them too.

**NHS Cuts in Scotland - Key Facts**

**Recent Hospital Cuts**
Hospital	NHS Health Board	Status
Aboyne	Grampian	Downgrade community maternity unit to pre and post natal care only.
Ayr Hospital	Ayrshire and Arran	Plans to close A&E unit. Children's services are to be centralised at a specialist 44 bed unit at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock.
Argyll & Bute Hospital, Lochgilphead		Recommended for closure.
Banff	Grampian	Downgrade community maternity unit to pre and post natal care only.
Campbell Hospital, Portsoy	Grampian	Will close (once the redevelopment of Chalmers Hospital, in Baff has been completed).
Coldstream Community Hospital	Borders	Will close (which has small minor-injuries unit).
Dumbarton Joint Hospital		Recommended for closure (geriatric and dementia patients).
Falkirk Royal	Forth Valley	All major trauma cases and medical and surgical emergencies were transferred from Falkirk to Stirling Royal Infirmary in 2005. To be closed by 2009 and services transferred to a new acute hospital in Larbert.
Fraserburgh	Grampian	Downgrade community maternity unit to pre and post natal care only.
Forth Park Hospital, Kirkcaldy	Fife	All women and children's services were moved to the Victoria Hospital. Forth Park will offer day surgery and an out-patients unit until it is due to close in 2010.
Huntly	Grampian	Downgrade community maternity unit to pre and post natal care only.
Jedburgh Community Hospitals	Borders	Will close (which has small minor-injuries unit).
Leanchoil Hospital, Forres	Grampian	To close (consolidation of services at Dr Gray's, Elgin. Apurpose built hospital and health centre is to be established in Forres).
Maud Hospital	Grampian	will be closed
Merchiston Hospital		Recommended for closure.
Monklands	Lanarkshire	Set to lose its A&E unit. The 24 bed child inpatient service was transferred to Wishaw Generalthree years ago because of a staffing shortage and this could be made permanent.
Perth Royal Infirmary	Tayside	24 hours children's ward cut (now opens from 10 am until 10 pm each day, and out-of-hours cases must travel to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee). The consultant-led maternity unit has been replaced with a mid-wife run department. All medium to high risk births now take place at Ninewells, Dundee).
Queen Margaret Hospital, Dunfermline	Fife	Downgrade A&E services to a 24 hour minor injuries unit. Around 500 acute beds will be transferred to the Victoria, Kirkcaldy.
Ravenscraig Hospital - Greenock		Recommended for closure (serves psychiatric and dementia patients).
Royal Victoria, Edinburgh	Lothian	Will close (with the site to be sold to fund a purpose-built, facility at the Western General Hospital nearby).
Spynie Hospital, Elgin	Grampian	To close (consolidation of inpatient services at Dr Gray's, Elgin).
Stirling Royal Infirmary	Forth Valley	To be closed by 2009 and services transferred to a new acute hospital in Larbert.
St John's Hospital, Livingston	Lothian	Lost orthopaedic trauma unit and emergency general surgery in 2004 (centralised to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary).
Stobhill	Greater Glasgow	Glasgow unit closed (in its place, a drop in Minor Injuries Unit which cares forapproximately 30% of the previous workload).
Victoria Infirmary, Helensburgh		Recommended for closure (geriatric patients).
The Victoria Infirmary, Glasgow	Greater Glasgow	Is to close (acute services and A&E closure lost) and a new day surgery unit will be built on the site.
Inverclyde Royal Hospital	Greater Glasgow	Lost consultant led maternity.
Vale of Leven District Hospital, Alexandria	Greater Glasgow	Lost consultant led maternity unit and A&E department.
Victoria, Kirkcaldy	Fife	Concerns that new restrictions on the hours of junior doctors could force temporary closure of Kirkcaldy's A&E unit.
Western Isles	Western Isles	Proposal to change the maternity service from consultant to midwife-led.
Western Infirmary, Glasgow	Greater Glasgow	Specialist services are being concentrated in fewer hospitals. Hearts, lung and chest surgery units (at Western infirmary, as well as those at Glasgow's Royal and Hairmyres Hospital in Lanarkshire, could all move to the Golden Jubilee National Hospital at Clydebank.

N.B. Argyll and Clyde has now merged with Greater Glasgow and Highland Health Boards.

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