Health board cuts unlikely to deliver for patients or practitioners, says the BDA
It has called for forensic scrutiny from MSPs
The British Dental Association (BDA) Scotland has expressed profound scepticism of plans for the reform of Scotland’s health boards and has called for forensic scrutiny from MSPs.
Today, First Minister John Swinney told the Scottish Parliament that “to ensure more joined-up delivery, to improve access to care and to reduce inequality for some patients” the fourteen current health boards would be reduced to two. He also said Scottish councils could be reduced in size in order to operate more sustainably.
“This ambitious Programme for Government has radical and widespread public service reform at its heart to deliver real, lasting improvements to people’s lives,” said the First Minister.
“By rewiring a system of services designed for the last century, we will simplify and reshape organisations on which everyone relies and ensure every pound of investment achieves maximum impact.”
The BDA said it was wholly supportive of the objectives regarding more joined-up delivery, improving access to care and reducing inequality for patients, but following publication of the Programme for Government it said it was unclear how any of them will be achieved through its proposals.
The BDA will be addressing the Health, Care and Sport Committee this week, and will warn of the risk of unintended consequences.
BDA Scotland Director Charlotte Waite said: “It is a truth universally acknowledged that top-down reorganisations of the NHS rarely deliver the goods for taxpayers, patients, or practitioners.
“These plans need to be subjected to forensic scrutiny. They only thing we can be sure of at this stage is unintended consequences.”