The go ahead for 132 new homes in Livingston, West Lothian's largest town, will make it even harder for local people to get a doctor’s appointment.
That was the claim by local community council chair Stevie Egan who aired objections to formalise the vacant land development off School House Road on the north-western boundary of Eliburn in northern Livingston.
The site has been earmarked for housing and Barratt Homes are set to build now that West Lothian Council’s Development Management Committee approved conditions for the start of the development.
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Mr Egan addressed the committee today on behalf of the community council and residents of Old School House, on the western side of the development site.
Mr Egan told the councillors: “ A great deal of the community council’s objections to this plan were resolved during exchanges with the planning officer and builder.
“We note that NHS Lothian don't foresee any pressure of GP services in Livingston North but with the greatest respect to the people at Waverley Gate [NHS Lothian HQ] with the spreadsheets, they are not the ones facing the impossibility of trying to get a doctor’s appointment. “
He added: “There are numerous examples of people phoning the surgery at 8am, doing over 100 redials to be told at 8.12am sorry there’s no appointments, phone back at 8am tomorrow.”
He said the extra 132 houses would potentially mean an extra 400 patients.
Mr Egan said: ”We know that new houses are necessary but we need the underlying infrastructure. I accept that it's not a planning issue per se, but it’s a people issue. We can’t get a doctor.”
The community council chair also highlighted concerns about access to the only home currently on the road and fears that the road could become blocked by construction traffic. He asked for specific conditions to be attached to ensure access and safety could be maintained.
In papers recommending conditions be approved planning officers said that when the initial planning application was heard in 2020 : “The impacts on health care, schools and other services was raised in the committee report at that time and members were satisfied that matters such as health care services were considered at the Local Development Plan (LDP) stage when the NHS had an opportunity to comment on site allocation.”
The report added: “Since then, there has been communication with NHS Lothian as part of a West Lothian Practice Infrastructure Audit carried out in 2021. From the information provided, the widely accepted Scottish list size ratio for GPs/Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) is 1 per 1500 residents. All the Livingston health centres have been assessed as having sufficient physical capacity to accommodate this ratio and to cope with the projected growth in practice list sizes.”
The report concluded: “The NHS had the opportunity to engage with the LDP process prior to the adoption of the West Lothian Local Development Plan, 2018 and set out any infrastructure concerns. NHS staffing levels, recruitment and retention are not planning matters and neither is the manner in which a GP practice manages its staff and consulting rooms.
“The 2021 audit carried out demonstrates that health centres have sufficient physical space, therefore, it would be unreasonable to seek contributions for physical development that is not necessary.
“Whilst the community council’s objection is noted, there is no requirement or mechanism to take contributions which would alleviate the issue raised by the community council. This is a matter for the NHS and the practice to consider.”
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