Rachael Hamilton MSP has expressed concern about the Scottish Government’s plans which overlook the Borders in establishing new National Treatment Centres as part of the NHS Recovery Plan.
Whilst new treatment centres are set to be established in 9 out of 14 health board areas, 5 rural health boards (including NHS Borders) are set to miss out on their share of £400 million of funding made available for the treatment centres.
The pause in NHS treatment services because of the pandemic has led to the postponement of thousands of operations and treatments.
The funding allocated to National Treatment Centres in Scotland forms part of the Scottish Government’s attempts to catch up with missed appointments, treatments, and surgical procedures.
Ms Hamilton has been a vocal supporter of rural access to healthcare throughout her time as an MSP, raising the issue in Parliament on several occasions.
Scottish Conservative MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire Rachael Hamilton said:
“This is yet another example of the SNP Government overlooking rural communities in favour of larger towns and cities.
“For people in my constituency in the Borders, the nearest treatment centre will be over 2 hours away by car. A lack of public transport availability could make them entirely inaccessible to many.
“I have spoken about the accessibility of healthcare services in Parliament on several occasions, but the Scottish Government will not listen. The SNP and Green Party simply do not care about rural communities.”