No plans to fully reinstate a GP out-of-hours service in Inverclyde

Discussions inside NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde are taking place about operating only one or two centres across the whole board overnight, the Tele can reveal.

Using Freedom of Information legislation we obtained papers relating to the proposals, which confirm there are no plans to increase provision in Inverclyde.

Instead residents will now permanently rely on phone calls to NHS 24, access to home visits or face travelling to Paisley or Glasgow.

The only time there will be doctors on duty out-of-hours would be Saturdays and public holidays, with a limited appointment service located in Inverclyde Royal.

The service was suspended in February 2020 after the health board was placed in 'special measures'.

Five thousand people signed a petition calling for a u-turn.

Now Councillor Martin McCluskey, who campaigned for reinstatement, said: "We have been operating since 2020 with a reduced service and people have had to travel to Paisley or Glasgow to receive a service that used to be provided locally.

"In many cases, people have resorted to going to A&E rather than Paisley.

"In others, people who've gone to Paisley have been sent back to A&E at Inverclyde."

Mr McCluskey says NHS bosses must listen to the public.

He said: "The health board have promised a meaningful consultation and that's what I have been pushing for since these proposals were first suggested.

"Board executives heard directly from patients a few weeks ago at a public meeting in Port Glasgow about how disruptive having a reduced out-of-hours service in Inverclyde has been.

"It is essential that at the end of this process Inverclyde has a full service that serves the needs of patients."

Papers obtained by the Tele included a report from a meeting of the board's finance, planning and performance committee on August 9 this year.

It set out an argument for keeping the current set-up, saying there had been no increase in visits to A&E in Inverclyde, that home visits had increased and the total number of calls to GP out-of-hours had gone up in line with elsewhere.

Only a summary of that meeting, with no details of specific sites, was presented to the full health board - which meets in public.

The out-of-hours service was located at Greenock Health Centre and then IRH before being suspended in 2020 after two years of short notice closures because of a shortage of doctors.

It was widely recognised that there was a crisis and contingency plans were put in place.

Only weeks later the pandemic hit, changing access to healthcare completely.

In May 2021 a Saturday service was introduced at IRH, running 8am-2pm, for face-to-face appointments.

The health board now plans to only have sites in Paisley and Glasgow at evenings and weekends.

A spokesman for NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde said: "The GP out-of-hours service was put into business continuity in February 2020 due to ongoing difficulties in covering shifts across all primary care emergency centres, resulting in significant unplanned closures and potential patient safety issues.

"The move allowed the service to stabilise across a smaller number of sites, and develop a sustainable model that took account of wider changes in healthcare.

"Since then, the GP out-of-hours service has been transformed, embracing new ways of working to support people who need to see a GP urgently before their surgery re-opens.

"This includes a move to a telephone first model, with initial telephone clinical consultation and management, a comprehensive home visit service and, for those who need to see a GP in person, access to patient transport.

"Working with local GPs, we have also delivered a partial weekend and public holiday service in Inverclyde Royal Hospital.

"The new approach has been well received by patients with high levels of patient satisfaction.

"Any concerns that these changes would result in patients bypassing GP out-of-hours and attending the local emergency department have not materialised.

"We have reviewed the rates of attendances to Inverclyde's emergency department and these have not changed.

"Patients from the Inverclyde area using the service overall have increased in line with other parts of NHS GGC, with patients benefitting from a higher proportion of house visits than elsewhere."

The health board are looking at future models of care, but none of the options include increasing cover in Inverclyde.

Their spokesman added: "Future models of care delivery are being considered to ensure the service is effective, efficient and sustainable, with a particular focus on overnight service provision.

"These are only potential options and will be subject to a public engagement process before any decisions are taken by the board."