Doctors don’t want to offer out-of-hours service

This was the stark answer the area’s MSP Aileen Campbell got when she dismissed this month’s NHS Lanarkshire consultation on the future of the service as worthless to her constituents as none of the options offered restores the service in Clydesdale.

She claims that all NHS Lanarkshire is offering is the lesser of two evils with those seeking medical help out of hours in Clydesdale facing either a trip to Hamilton or to Airdrie.

“While recognising the pressures faced by NHS Lanarkshire due to lower numbers of GPs willing to undertake out-of-hours work, centralising all provision to Hamilton and Airdrie is completely short-sighted,” she said.

“Instead of examining innovative options to maintain a level of service in Clydesdale they’ve fallen back on the standard option of centralisation.”

For more on this story pick up a copy of this week’s Carluke and Lanark Gazette, which is in the shops now.