A man who now faces a 10-mile round trip to see a nurse says he is “seething” at the decision by health chiefs to remove the treatment from a Bridge of Weir doctors surgery.
Chris Gilzean, who receives regular injections at Strathgryffe Medical Practice, said he only learned of the planned closure of the treatment room when he was notified his next appointment would be 4.9 miles away in Linwood.
Mr Gilzean, who also represents Bridge of Weir Tenants and Residents Association, together with local councillor James MacLaren, has demanded an “immediate rethink” of the decision.
Mr Gilzean told the Paisley Daily Express he was incensed when he received a letter from the partnership, which he says is failing to look past the distance to Linwood and acknowledge the challenges locals face in accessing public transport.
He said: “From my point of view this looks like someone looking at a map and deciding to centralise a service without taking into account who uses that service.
“The people who make these decisions do not look at how patients will get to any venue for treatment. Travel distance is fine if you have adequate local public transport.
“Bridge of Weir has one of the worst bus services in Renfrewshire, this has obviously not been taken into consideration.
“What bus services we have to Johnstone and Linwood are extremely limited and unreliable.”
Claiming consultation with the local community has been non-existent, Mr Gilzean said he was outraged when health chiefs wrote to councillor MacLaren stating engagement with locals is “continuing”.
He said: “I was seething when I saw that letter. Nobody in Bridge of Weir I’ve spoken to over the last month had any idea the treatment room services were moving out of the village, all expressed disgust and concern at the thought of another service being lost to the village, and how they’d get to Linwood. Nobody had engaged with them from Renfrewshire HSCP.”
The treatment room currently offers a host of health services to people in Bridge of Weir and is particularly vital to those receiving regular injections, need stitches removed and wounds dressed.
Mr Gilzean and councillor MacLaren are extremely concerned about the impact the closure will have on older people and those with long-term health problems.
Councillor MacLaren said: “Local residents who require regular injections or other treatments are understandably angry at now being forced to travel to Linwood to do so. I share their anger. This centralisation of services is completely wrong and local health board chiefs must urgently re-think this decision.
“This will have a detrimental impact on elderly and vulnerable patients in Bridge of Weir in particular. For those who don’t drive, it will have an even greater impact and may put them off going for appointments, which is deeply concerning.”
A spokesperson for Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) told the Express it recognises the problems with the current set up and is keen to work with the community going forward. Explaining treatment room services are now the responsibility of health boards and not GPs, the spokeswoman said the treatment room had been operating at Strathgryffe Medical Practice on an “interim basis” while other NHSGGC premises were being refurbished.
She said: “Unfortunately, Strathgryffe Practice can no longer accommodate the HSCP due to capacity pressures in delivering services to their patients.
“We understand the challenges regarding transport links from Bridge of Weir to Linwood, and we acknowledge that this situation is not ideal for residents. We will continue to provide updates to the affected patients.”
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