Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Community fears for patient healthcare if Huntly hospital services reduced

David Easton, right, with the Friends of Jubilee Hospital group
David Easton, right, with the Friends of Jubilee Hospital group

Fears have been raised that the health care of patients could be at risk if services at an Aberdeenshire hospital are downgraded, ahead of a public consultation on its future next week.

The Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership (AHSCP) is currently reviewing services at minor injury units (MIU) across the region, including the Jubilee Hospital in Huntly.

Next Wednesday, from 3pm to 7pm at Stewarts Hall in Huntly, representatives from the AHSCP will meet with the local community to discuss what could be on the horizon for the community hospital.

Although the final details of the project have not yet been revealed, fears have been raised of the consequences of potential downscaling.

Trained nurses have in the past been treating patients with serious emergency health conditions, however, there are now concerns they will be rerouted to A&E units further afield if services are downgraded.

Dr David Easton, who was medical director of Jubilee Hospital for around 20 years until he retired in 2014, said a reduction in services at the site would be “scandalous”.

He said: “This has happened already in Insch and Inverurie, and the same process is going to happen in Banff and Turriff.

“Downscaling is bad for people from not just Huntly, but people all across the north-east who find it easier to get to Huntly than to get to Dr Gray’s in Elgin, or Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

“If the nurses in the hospital have somebody come to the door and the place is, for example, no longer properly staffed out of hours, if that somebody has a heart attack the nurses would be told to tell that patient to phone 999.

“This puts the nurses individually in a very difficult position, as their code of ethics states that if they are trained to a level that allows them to treat a condition then they must treat them.


>> Keep up to date with the latest news with The P&J newsletter


“This is scandalous. They’ll of course treat the patient, but could face repercussions.”

Alexander Burnett, Scottish Conservative MSP for Aberdeenshire West added: “I have written to NHS Grampian, seeking clarity on what is being proposed and what avenues the public will have to make their views known.”

Iain Ramsay, partnership manager for South Aberdeenshire said: “The AHSCP started the process of reviewing the provision of MIUs across Aberdeenshire early last year.

“The consultation event next Wednesday will be an opportunity for residents of Huntly and the surrounding area to come along and see what our preferred option for the continuation of the MIS at Jubilee Hospital will be.

“Myself and members of the health and social care team for Huntly will be at the session, and will be on hand to answer any questions and concerns.

“We will also look to further explain how the review process works, and what the various options we have considered for the service are.”