§ 10 pm
§ Mr. Andrew Welsh (Angus, East)With your permission, Mr. Speaker, I wish to present to the House a petition on behalf of the general practitioners, community council and citizens of Brechin and district, protesting against any major rundown or closure of general practitioner facilities at Brechin infirmary. Over 3,200 people, more than half the population of Brechin, and the equivalent of one signature for every family in the town, wish to voice their protest and to speak up for general practitioner services at the infirmary.
The petition states:
That there is extreme concern about the proposal from the Angus District Management Unit of Tayside Health Board to close the upper wards of Brechin Infirmary, thus reducing the general practitioner bed complement from 34 to a proposed 21, and that we believe that this cutback induced closure will not only be hopelessly inadequate to provide the level of service felt necessary by the general practitioners but that closure of the second of the three floors in the Infirmary raises severe anxieties about the future of the hospital and the services it provides for our community.That record of Brechin Infirmary, with its comparatively favourable bed occupancy, length of stay and range and outcome of treatments, with 79 per cent. of patients discharged back into the community after an average stay of 30 days and with almost all of the patients being over 70 years of age, shows that resources are being used well.That since most patients prefer to be looked after in their own community by their own GPs whenever possible, GP beds in 'Cottage Hospitals' are an extremely cost-effective way of looking after patients as well as being popular with both patients and relatives who would otherwise find visiting very difficult and we consequently believe that the policy of running down Cottage Hospitals to achieve short-term savings is short-sighted, financially silly and extremely unpopular with patients particularly the more elderly and disadvantaged.Wherefore, your Petitioners pray that your honourable House urge Tayside Health Board to upgrade facilities at Brechin Infirmary and retain the maximum possible services available locally for the citizens of Brechin and district.And your Petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray, etc.
§ To lie upon the Table.