End of vascular service would be ‘real concern’ for Caithness patients
Plans to axe the vascular surgery service in the Highlands would be "a real worry and a concern" for patients in Caithness, according to a health campaigner.
Ron Gunn, the chairman of the Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) said the proposal would mean longer waiting lists and patients having to travel further afield for their operations.
"That would be an added stress for them," he said.
Vascular surgeons diagnose and manage conditions affecting circulation, including disease of the arteries and veins. They treat all parts of the vascular system apart from the heart and the brain.
The possible loss of the service is expected to be one of the subjects raised when CHAT meets Fiona Davies, the new chief executive of NHS Highland at a meeting in Wick on Wednesday.
Mr Gunn, a Thurso and Northwest Caithness councillor and chairman of the Caithness Committee, said the service which is provided at present is a good one and he would not want to see it axed.
The health board has pointed out that a population of 800,000 people is needed to run a viable vascular surgery unit. About 320,000 people live in the NHS Highland area which includes Argyll and Bute.
Mr Gunn said: "If they are looking at the numbers game to justify a medical service that would be a real worry and a concern for people in Caithness and the whole Highlands. If they go down that road what other services could be looked at? It really could become a bit of a lottery. I don't see why NHS Highland is using numbers to justify a service."
Wick woman Barbara Sinclair, who had two major operations on arteries in her legs within a year at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness, expressed her concern about the health board's plans.
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She is worried about the implications for local patients and would be "really, really disappointed" if the service is axed by NHS Highland in a bid to ease the financial pressures on its budget.
Mrs Sinclair, who is 66 and stays in Gunn's Terrace, claimed the loss of the service would impact on Caithness patients who would have to wait even longer for their surgery.
She had an operation on her main artery on her left leg in June last year and then on her right leg six months later.
Mrs Sinclair was "very impressed" by the surgical team and the care she received from them.
"They were just brilliant," she said.
Clinics were also held by the consultant in Wick to save patients having to travel to Inverness, she stressed.
Mrs Sinclair also took issue with the claims about the population needed for a viable vascular surgery unit.
"I don't accept that argument,” she said.
“I had two operations in Inverness within a year. I was given a date and they stuck to it and everything went very well.
“I travelled down to Inverness the day before the operations and stayed in Kyle Court. I was very impressed by the whole team there."
NHS Highland has stressed its vascular service has relied on locum cover for the past year and "a more sustainable solution will be needed."
A spokeswoman said: "The provision of vascular surgery across Scotland is currently being considered at regional and national level, in order to ensure the best possible outcomes for patients.
“UK recommendation is that a minimum population of 800,000 is considered necessary for a viable vascular service."
She added: "NHS Highland expects to end this financial year with a deficit of no more than £55.8 million. In the financial year, 2024-25, we require to deliver £84.091 million of cost improvements and reductions.
"This is because increases in costs are not matched by the funding available."
