Appeal to treat city patients

Belford treats a large number of mountain casualties

A group of Highland doctors has called for patients from cities to be brought to rural hospitals.

The plan is aimed at cutting waiting lists and saving acute services in remote areas.

Fort William-based medics fear that large areas of Scotland could be left without acute facilities unless radical action is taken.

The Belford Hospital in Fort William is the second busiest mountain trauma hospital in Europe, but faces downgrading in a review of health care in the West Highlands.

In order to cover 168 hours in the week in a hospital you need at least four or five consultants

Dave Sedgwick
consultant surgeon

Specialisation is being blamed for the Scotland-wide staffing crisis and in Lochaber most general surgeons are reaching retirement age.

But the group of doctors believes that a training regime linking rural and urban hospitals could be set up.

The proposal would see the importation of city patients in need of routine surgery, boosting rural staffing and reducing waiting lists.

Dave Sedgwick, a consultant surgeon at Belford Hospital, said the status quo was unacceptable and implementing the European Working Directive was difficult.

'Important debate'

He said: "In order to cover 168 hours in the week in a hospital you need at least four or five consultants.

"The problem comes in areas where an acute hospital is serving a base population which is too small to sustain that number of consultants."

Doctors believed either the 365-days-a-year working practice should be scrapped and replaced by an "elective service" or more consultants were brought in, he added.

"It's an important ongoing consultation and the debate has to go on."