Following protests last Friday at a ceremony of ‘closure’ for Tarves Surgery, a delegation from Tarves and Udny went to meet NHS Grampian CEO, Richard Carey and other officials facilitated by Alex Salmond MSP. Richard Reville from Tarves Community Council along with local residents and campaigners, Chris York, Tamsin Morris and David Hekelaar with Councillor Paul Johnston and Udny Community Council member Brian Macdougall met with Richard Carey CEO, David Pfleger and Pam Gowans of NHS Grampian along with Dr Fiona Munro and Viv Tanner from the Haddo medical practice.
“The meeting was positive” said Paul Johnston. ” We made a very powerful case to Mr Carey that NHS Grampian had to review the decision made by The Doctors review Group and endorsed by the NHS Board as it was faulted. Not only did it fail to take into account the severe local difficulties, it self evidently placed too little weight on the representations such as the warning that the practice would be forced to close a surgery. This happened and so the NHS Board have to return to the issue and reverse the dispensing decision as a matter of first order.”
The delegation welcomed suggestions that,as a separate issue, if the Haddo Medical Practice were financially unable to keep a surgery in Tarves, that the NHS Grampian Board would consider funding the practice to maintain a presence in the village. “This was helpful as an interim solution” said Tamsin Morris.
Following the meeting, the Tarves and Udny delegation received support from Mr Salmond MSP and Richard Carey said publicly, that the decision is open to go back to the NHSG Board for re-consideration and he agreed with the suggestion from Councillor Johnston that the local Community should be allowed the opportunity of making a direct presentation of their case the the board.
“There is now a clear light ahead for the communities of both Tarves and Pitmedden” said Chris York.
The local Community has vowed to keep up the pressure on NHS Grampian to review favourably the decision on dispensing and the delegation thanked all the local MSPs and MPs who, latterly, have acknowledged the problem and have helped to try and resolve it.