A leading economist has claimed that the business case for a controversial shake-up of hospital services on Skye is “seriously flawed”.
Professor Ronald MacDonald conducted his own analysis of the health board’s economic appraisal for the proposed upgrade to Broadford Hospital, claiming that it failed to account for potential “significant costs” to the public by siting it at a distance from the main population in Portree.
His report will appear as part of the documents which will go before Holyrood’s petitions committee today.
A petition raised by SOS-NHS has drawn more than 4,500 signatures against the plans.
Broadford was chosen in 2014 as the location for the main “hub” hospital on the island, with Portree to host a smaller “spoke” health centre, sparking furious reaction from many islanders.
Prof MacDonald, of Portree, recently spoke to the Press and Journal about how staff at the existing Broadford Hospital had failed his father in the days before his painful death, claiming the distance was a factor.
He suggested the case illustrated why the hospital shake-up should not go ahead.
Following his economic analysis, unveiled yesterday, Prof MacDonald said: “In sum, I find that the board’s case for relocating hospital care on the island is very seriously flawed indeed, and had they used appropriate methods there can be little doubt that we would be considering a single sited hospital based in Portree with a capacity to meet the increased demand for hospital services in the area, because of a number of factors including demographics.”
In his report, Prof MacDonald claims the document makes no mention of an objective economic cost benefit analysis of location and focuses on the “non-financial benefits”.
Last night, an NHS Highland spokeswoman said: “The proposals will be subject to further detailed financial appraisal as part of the outline and full business case process.
“There is very clear guidance to be followed including when to consider financial and non-financial benefits. Both Highlands and Islands Enteprise and the Highland Council supported the model and the location.
“There is also clear guidance on when an Independent Scrutiny Panel is convened and that would usually be before any consultation got underway.”