News

Gordon MP & local councillor condemn Conservative/Lib Dem cuts to Huntly’s minor injuries unit

Gordon MP Richard Thomson and local SNP councillor Gwyneth Petrie have condemned the decision voted through with support from Conservative and Liberal Democrat councillors to withdraw the evening and overnight service from Huntly’s Minor Injuries Unit.

SNP members of Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership Integration Joint Board (IJB) voted against proposals to close Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Huntly’s Minor Injuries Units overnight as part of a series of budget proposals.

Commenting, Gordon MP Richard Thomson said:

“This is a quite disgraceful decision made by the Conservatives and Lib Dems who voted for it.

“The reason we have these Minor Injuries Units in Aberdeenshire is that unlike Aberdeen City or Moray, we don’t have service provision like there is in Aberdeen at ARI or in Elgin.  The North-east is full of rural communities and these units save people having to make long journeys to already busy locations.

“This decision is a blow to local service provision in Huntly and the wider North-east and I will be urging the Health and Social Care Partnership to reconsider.”

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford SNP councillor Gwyneth Petrie said:

“I made my views on this known to colleagues who sit on the Board and I’m proud that they voted to retain the current level of service in Huntly, recognising that we are a long way from ARI or Dr Gray’s Hospital which will inevitably now have to pick up some of the workload which would have been dealt with at Huntly and other sites.

“This is a further erosion of service provision in Huntly and the cumulative impact of all of these cuts will have a negative effect on the town.”

• Press Release