NHS PRIVATISATION IN ENGLAND AFFECTING CONSULTANT VACANCIES Concern about the high number of vacancies for senior doctors in Dumfries and Galloway has been raised in parliament - along with claims that privatisation of the NHS in England is partly to blame. Joan McAlpine, South of Scotland MSP, told parliament that sources within Dumfries and Galloway Health Board had told her that the difficulty of attracting consultants to the region was exacerbated by the increased opportunities for private work in the separate NHS England. Ms McAlpine asked the health secretary Shona Robison to examine the claims and what more can be done to encourage specialists to work in D&G. The Cabinet Secretary revealed there was a recent case where a consultant had indeed resigned due to the inability to undertake private work. Under the controversial Health and Social Care Act 2012, up to 49% of the work of NHS Trusts in England and Wales can be in the private sector. Ms Robison said the Scottish Government was working hard to address the vacancy issue. “We are undertaking a large amount of work on the key specialisms that have the highest vacancy levels and the least attractive posts, recognising the need to do more to ensure that those posts are made more attractive, particularly in remote and rural areas. “I will write to the member with some of the detail of that work.” Commenting, Ms McAlpine said: “I welcome the Cabinet Secretary’s response to the concerns I raised. “It is incredibly frustrating that despite the fact that NHS Scotland has been independent from the NHS in England and Wales since its inception, policies can still have such a detrimental effect on us. She added: “There are many complex reasons that rural health boards such as Dumfries and Galloway struggle to attract consultants, such as difficulties relocating and finding work for a partner. There is also the challenge of smaller departments, meaning consultants are on call more often. It is clear that this is an issue that we all need to work together to address. We need to let people know about the wonderful quality of life in this area - and soon we will have a state-of-the art new hospital providing an excellent working environment for all staff, including consultants.
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:48:42 +0000