BMA warns frontline staff must not be cut

Published on Friday 4 September 2009 22:06

MEDICS, nurses and other frontline staff must not be cut from the NHS in the face of the economic downturn, the leader of Scotland's doctors has warned.

Brian Keighley, who has recently taken over as chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said any reductions in staff numbers should start with those not directly providing patient care.

The GP also expressed concerns about potential cuts in training budgets and staff being asked to do jobs they are not properly qualified for in efforts to save money.

Spending on the NHS is set to be a hot topic in the coming year as politicians prepare for a general election. In England, both Labour and the Conservatives have pledged to maintain funding in areas such as the NHS.

In Scotland, politicians have yet to reveal their spending priorities ahead of the publication of the Scottish draft spending plans, due later this month.

But this week fears were raised by the Centre for Public Policy for Regions that spending in areas such as roads and law could be cut by 40 per cent if health and education are cordoned off from any cutbacks.

In his first interview since taking up his new post, Dr Keighley expressed concern about how potential cuts could affect the NHS.

"What I hope happens is that frontline services will be spared," he told The Scotsman. "The health service is very complicated and now has a lot of backroom people to produce what happens at the front end.

"But at the end of the day, when Mrs Smith goes off to the outpatient department, it is her relationship with the doctors and the nurses and therapist that she needs, and not so much about the bean-counting…

"That's not to decry the need for proper planners, economists, statisticians – all these backroom people. But, if there are to be cuts, then it mustn't be at the front end."

Dr Keighley said another area of concern was "asking people to do things that either they are not best placed to do or not trained to do".

He highlighted reports about care assistants being trained to carry out nursing duties.

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: "Scotland is facing cuts of 500 million a year as a result of decisions taken by the UK government. Nevertheless, the Scottish Government is determined to protect key services to ensure frontline health services do not suffer."

'WE'RE NOT FLEECING PUBLIC'

DOCTORS do not want to "fleece" the public in their efforts to get payment for providing swine flu jabs, Brian Keighley said.

GPs are in the process of negotiating funding for delivering the vaccination campaign to provide for extra clinics and staff time. But there have been claims that doctors may "cash-in" on it.

Dr Keighley said: "The aim is not to make a killing getting all this extra money for doing extra things. What we want to do is get some of the money which adequately covers our extra expenses.

"The aim is a payment which brings equilibrium and doesn't fleece government or the public, and doesn't leave doctors out of pocket either."