Members' Business — S5M-05016 Jackie Baillie: Vale of Leven Hospital GP Out-of-hours Services

That the Parliament expresses its concerns about the future provision of GP out-of-hours services at the Vale of Leven Hospital; notes that a report produced by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde recommends the withdrawal of the service between Mondays and Fridays due to financial and staffing pressures; understands that the publication of the report follows months of temporary closures at the hospital during weekends as the NHS board is unable to recruit enough medical staff to cover the service; considers that it is unacceptable to force people in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond to travel to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley to access emergency primary care services; believes that the report identifies a reduction in services at the Vale of Leven Hospital as the preferred option, despite the NHS board’s own figures revealing higher attendances at GP out-of-hours services among Dumbarton and Alexandria residents than residents in Paisley; considers that such services are a vital component of any local hospital, and notes calls on the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport to intervene to ensure that the commitment in the Vision for the Vale agreement to maintaining these services is respected