Born in 1946 and brought up in Cupar, Fife, I was educated at the local school - 
to a mixture of innovative solutions”
– Stewart Stevenson MSP
Banffshire & Buchan Coast MSP Stewart Stevenson has welcomed the public drop in session in Buckie which was held by NHS Grampian in response to concerns over the overnight closure of the children’s ward at Dr Gray’s Hospital in Elgin.
Women’s and children’s services have been affected by a shortage of staff resulting in the closure of wards overnight.
The MSP for Buckie has highlighted that whilst the funding is in place for the posts there have not been sufficient applicants coming forward to fill jobs and ensure a safe level of service can be provided through the night.
Commenting on the sessions which were being held this week in Buckie Stewart Stevenson said:
“There are many people in the Buckie area who are, quite rightly, concerned about the overnight closure of the children’s ward at Dr Gray’s in Elgin. However, it should be stressed that this is not due to a lack of funding but rather a difficulty in recruiting the adequate number of staff to keep the service running safely through the night.
“The drop in sessions are a critical way of NHS Grampian engaging with the local community to see what more can be done to get people to apply for these posts as well as answering questions. I am sure that NHS Grampian managers have been given many ideas to reflect on and I look forward to seeing the results.
“A number of actions are already underway including a fantastic promotional video aimed at recruiting medical staff to Moray and the establishment of the Keep MUM group which is doing a great job. I also welcome the ‘Move to Moray’ initiative being driven by my SNP colleague Richard Lochhead MSP which is looking at developing a package of incentives as another tool to attract people to the area.
“I am glad to see that actions are being taken to try and resolve this worrying situation and I am confident that the public sessions will contribute to a mixture of innovative solutions.”
“The drop in sessions are a critical way of NHS Grampian engaging with the local community to see what more can be done to get people to apply for these posts as well as answering questions. I am sure that NHS Grampian managers have been given many ideas to reflect on and I look forward to seeing the results.
“A number of actions are already underway including a fantastic promotional video aimed at recruiting medical staff to Moray and the establishment of the Keep MUM group which is doing a great job. I also welcome the ‘Move to Moray’ initiative being driven by my SNP colleague Richard Lochhead MSP which is looking at developing a package of incentives as another tool to attract people to the area.
“I am glad to see that actions are being taken to try and resolve this worrying situation and I am confident that the public sessions will contribute to a mixture of innovative solutions.”
