Dumbarton Constituency MSP, Jackie Baillie, has slammed NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde as information from a Freedom of Information request has revealed that the GP Out of Hours service at the Vale of Leven hospital has been closed 50 times since December 2018.

The MSP had previously revealed that the service was closed 83 times between January 2018 and November 2018 – the highest number of closures of any Out of Hours service in Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

The new figures show that the Out of Hours service has been closed more times in the last 5 months than in the same period last year. On five occasions the service was closed for an hour, but on all other occasions the service was closed completely.

Jackie said:

“The continued closure of the GP Out of Hours service at the Vale of Leven hospital is simply unacceptable. Patients in our area need to be able to rely on essential services like this, delivered locally in their area.

“The response from the health board states that the Out of Hours service is run with just one GP, so it is clear that they are not doing enough to ensure the service is properly staffed.

“Recent community meetings have shown that people value local health services, and time and time again residents have called on the health board to ensure that this service was staffed as a priority. A proposal has also been made to have the hospital organise the rota rather than leaving it to Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

“It’s time that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde got their act together and ensured local people could rely on the Out of Hours service.”