In Nicola, We Don’t Trust; SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon’s ongoing neglect for GP services sees an explosion in patient numbers, the backlog of non covid cases finally breaks through, the dyke now is ready to burst under massive sustained pressure, why is the Louisa Jordan not brought online to ease mounting pressure on GP services, ‘an asset not used is no asset at all’, the lack of creativity under her SNP micromanaged control is a failure of leadership without parallel in the history of devolved Scottish Government

Dear All 

If coronavirus has taught us anything it is, how fragile life can be, not just for the few but everyone. When I was younger, I thought that doctors were special, that they knew everything, and had all the solutions. This was the illusion of youth coupled with lack of experience of usage. Doctors don’t have all the answers, and medicine isn’t an exact science, I found this out in the latter end of 2014. Having finished the Scottish referendum, my health took a serious decline, as I had an age related illness. After several weeks in pain, I ended up at the QUEH, after being examined by a doctor in his 30’s, explaining extensively the problem, I was kicked out as a time waster. Fast forward 55 hours in incredible agony and a trip to the GP, I was back at said hospital rushed in as an emergency. A nurse who remembered me for two days earlier said to me, ‘you back again’. I said, ‘yes, apparently I am dying’. The nurse rushed off after my matter of fact reply, I was dragged in treated immediately and then after some tests, told; ‘you are not going anywhere’. It seemed the lack of treatment had affected my kidneys so badly that I had to be kept in. This was my first experience of a hospital stay which lasted 5 days. 

During my time on the ward, just before the transfer to the new hospital, my eyes were opened quite a bit. Luckily for me, the patient in the next bed was a man called Stanley Ockrim, he kept my spirits up and I needed to as I saw the sights around me. When you see people with tubes coming out of them, huge bags of saline hung over their beds, and heard others screaming, you know you are seeing something that normally you don’t on a visit. When I later had to return for surgery, it was the new hospital, own room and contact only with nurses or friends who made it up to my floor. Leaving hospital post surgery, I was wiped out physically; the loss of so much blood had drained me of oxygen carrying red blood cells. The blood volume was made up, by drinking water, but the red blood cell count took longer. Nearly a year after the operation, I returned for an outpatient visit to another hospital; that was to give me the all clear from cancer. I relate this tale, not for sympathy, but to remind people that doctors don’t have all the answers. 

As coronavirus rages on across Scotland, health services and health services have suffered, and so have their patients, there are many ticking health time bombs waiting to go off. Early treatment could have helped prevent many future untimely deaths. We in Scotland need to stop the spread of coronavirus, and this time, the effort should be more direct and stronger in restrictions. The backlog of health problems pushed to the side will one day push the Scottish NHS to breaking point. In previous blogs on education, I highlighted the need for younger working class Scots to get into university; this is because we need a larger educated home grown base of people in Scotland. Medicine by its nature is a passport to travel about, but the bulk of medics etc tend to stay put unless they are pulled away by further education or the prospect of a higher position, which is usually linked to specialities. 

In Scotland, we have a shortage of medics, we have always known that we have a shortage of medics, but the SNP Government haven’t bothered to address it. Instead, they are taking a politicised line of everything is solved by immigration. When you take ‘talent’ from one place, you by default leave a skills vacuum in another, someone then always loses out, in this case, the other nation and the patients. I think it is great that overseas students study medicine in Scotland, because, it always was an international teaching community, but the trick is to get them in the right place for helping people and their future further development. Passing “uni” is the start of the learning process for medics, courses all their days. GPS have warned that surgeries are facing a “perfect storm” as patients who are seeking pandemic-delayed appointments, flu jags and mental health issues combine to drive a surge in consultations. Eventually other issues created by the shutdown and backlog would breakthrough. In Glasgow, we have a hospital sitting empty, this is because Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP want to run with the narrative that they are coping with the virus. I will be blunt, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon is coping, because to ‘cope’ requires her to go through a learning curve which she is unable to do. 

The Louisa Jordan Hospital must be brought online to treat people; a simple way is to make them a vaccination centre. This isn’t a huge planning exercise, but what it will do is take pressure off GPs and importantly free up time. Other outpatient services could also be offered, it is just a matter of being creative in a post pandemic world. So far, the SNP response to the virus couldn’t be described as ‘creative’, there is a failure to look beyond initial problems and see the big picture. Sturgeon’s roadmap has been a failure;it is the first roadmap in history where everyone remains on a roundabout because virus response is political. Sturgeon’s ‘hands on’ post advice is a problem, part of leadership is allowing others to take charge, she cannot do that, she can’t get over herself, which is why she will fail. 

And has failed! 

One doctor said his practice in Glasgow’s south side had experienced an almost 70 per cent rise in patient numbers. The GP added his serious concerns the pattern would continue into winter. Eventually the dyke by pressure would burst, everyone knew this, but no one had the gumption to say we need to siphon off the water publicly. Sturgeon’s experts will see their reputations effectively ‘shot to shit’ post virus, because there is always an inquiry, and there is always blame. This time, the ‘wall of blame’ carries more than just coronavirus deaths in its wake. In the health budgets, money wasn’t allocated correctly, some services saw cuts to treatment, the frontline of the Scottish Health Service are the GPs; they have long called for greater investment from the Government in general practice to tackle chronic staff shortages. Under the leadership of Nicola Sturgeon this has fallen on deaf ears. Nicola Sturgeon would rather stand on a hospital building site with a shovel getting her picture taken, than be in room grasping nettle of budget distribution. Nicola, nice shiny builders’ hat, nice clean builders’ jacket, nice new wellies and brand new, never used stainless steel spade in hand, a PR politician. 

Having avoided the ‘work’, it is left to Dr John Montgomery of the David Elder Medical Practice to carry out his own research looking at patient numbers through lockdown and over the subsequent months. He runs a practice in one of the 100 most deprived communities in Scotland, the ‘die young communities’. His figures show that his surgery in Govan has experienced a 69 per cent rise in patient consultations in August alone. This compares sharply with the same month last year because ‘the Sturgeon plan’ isn’t creative, it isn’t effective, and those who run it are doing a box ticking exercise, to cover their back. Seeing to be doing something isn’t the same as doing something, when the cameras stop rolling the work goes on. 

In March, the Govan practice saw 19% fewer patient appointments compared to the same month in 2019 as “patients tried to protect the NHS”. Whereas anyone can understand their concerns on being stoic, we can also understand that sometimes, people can be too brave for their own good. Health isn’t a subject you can gamble with, at some stage, you will need specialised help; it is just a matter of when. 

GPs are right to be worried, as Dr. Montgomery said: 

“Demand is going up quite significantly and patients are starting to struggle now with being told they have to book appointments. I have serious concerns if this keep going. Patients, if they have problems, are no longer hesitant in coming forward. Mental health consultations have gone up significantly so that’s going to be another factor. Paradoxically we are now the first point of contact so we are getting things sent through to us that would be better dealt with by other professionals.” 

Louisa Jordan Hospital should be brought online because the more ways to release pressure on services where it is needed, the better chance GPs can manage the ‘backlog’ of trouble that has been stored up. You could ask; why since SNP Health Sec Jeane Freeman who spent so much time as ‘Health Quango Queen’ raking in cash not been able to come up with ideas? Why is Freeman is so bad at her job, the reality is that she isn’t there to lead, she is there to do partial oversight, and then desert her desk. Just as the SNP is driven by nepotism, one can only wonder does that extend to her ‘little helpers’ which she calls her team? Freeman is a puppet, nothing can get done unless Sturgeon approves, in some ways, no one can be creative unless they can factor in how it makes Sturgeon look good! 

Dr Philip Wilson is a Professor of Primary Care and Rural Health at the University of Aberdeen, as a retired GP, he said he had grown frustrated with the shift to remote consultations ahead of the pandemic. 

He added: 

“It feels like I got out at the right time. I always felt that face-to-face consultations should be the mainstay of general practice. The key issue is that general practice is in a terrible mess: medical students don’t want to be GPs and I’m not even sure I would want to be one now if I was 40 years younger. And it seems like the Scottish Government is keen to replace GPs with other clinicians like pharmacists and advanced nurse practitioners so many GPs seem to have ended up just seeing people for the problems that are too difficult for the other team members to deal with. One really big concern I have about all this is that people who want personal continuity of care from a doctor will end up seeking private GP care and that would be a real disaster for the NHS.” 

Finally, the SNP, the Sturgeon answer is that when there is a problem, the solution is to fling money at it. Nicola Sturgeon did this in Govanhill and she is doing it with the hospital problem. What she isn’t doing is, understanding the problem, and enacting proper solutions. What we need in the NHS in Scotland are creative health solutions, solutions that ease pressure on GP services for a start, making bold decisions. The crisis of staff shortages has been known for years, do you know of Sturgeon’s solution? You don’t, because it isn’t simply a matter of employing people, you needed to educate them first, and Sturgeon cut the funding so that her vanity problems took top priority. A lot of people have denied in Scotland due to SNP incompetence and neglect, and as the dyke breaks, the entire system is in jeopardy, which means it can’t cope. When the system can’t cope, to survive, it has to extend waiting times, as people wait in limbo, their odds reduce, and for some, the wait is the deciding factor in whether they live or die.

Yours sincerely

George Laird                                                                                                                                The Campaign for Human Rights at Glasgow University