HEALTH boards will be called on to be more transparent in their decision-making processes following a ban on the treatment of Lanarkshire patients at a unique hospital.
Campaigners yesterday claimed the Scottish Health Council (SHC), which protects patients’ rights, had “serious concerns” about the decision.
The decision to stop referring new patients to the Centre for Integrative Care in Glasgow by NHS Lanarkshire has exposed a “serious flaw in democratic transparency” according to campaigners battling to save services at the centre, which treats people with chronic conditions.
They fear the board’s decision to stop referring new patients threatens the future of the unit, which is supposed to serve the whole of Scotland. Only four out of 14 health boards now regularly send patients to the centre and beds have been cut from 15 to seven.
The campaigners claimed yesterday that NHS Lanarkshire “stressed repeatedly” that their decision to close two local CIC clinics and stop referring new patients to the main hospital had been approved by the Scottish Health Council.
However the campaigners say they have now found out that the council, which protects patients’ rights, had “serious concerns”.
“They (the council) stated that a key board document ‘does not reflect the disproportionate impact on people with long term conditions and disabilities and how this will be mitigated’,” said former health professional Catherine Hughes, who is a patient at the hospital which treats conditions such as multiple sclerosis, severe arthritis, Parkinson’s, chronic pain, ME and motor neurone disease.
She continued: “Patients’ views don’t count. Boards and bureaucrats rule. I want to expose how patients are being denied democracy shockingly.
“In the current Lanarkshire case, when an overwhelming 80.6 per cent of the public and patients voted to continue with the CIC, they were ignored. Just nine board members voted down the wishes of 4,800 people responding to the board’s public consultation.
“They also aim to shut two local CIC clinics at Carluke and Coatbridge and force patients to return to conventional services. But many have been through these already without success. That’s why some patients nickname the CIC ‘last hope hotel’.”
Hughes added: “I am outraged that chronically ill people are being denied their choice. These are some of the most ill people in Scotland.
Labour MSP Elaine Smith, who is opposing a clinic being closed in her Coatbridge constituency, now has a motion before Holyrood calling for “an end to one sided views of health boards being discussed behind closed doors, with MSPs undemocratically excluded in the decision process”.
Smith’s motion points out that, at present, boards’ plans are submitted in private to the SHC which is dependent on information selected by an NHS board for consideration behind closed doors and that outside challenge, comment or corrections to aid the SHC are missing.
People suffering from serious conditions will be among those giving evidence to the Public Petitions Committee of the Scottish Parliament tomorrow when the motion is heard.
Dr Harpreet Kohli, NHS Lanarkshire’s director of public health and health policy, said: “The Scottish Government was informed at all stages and the Scottish Health Council oversaw and approved the process.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here