Page 11 - IAV Digital Magazine #562

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UkrainianRefugee'FlewBackToKyiv' ToSeeA Doctor As Waiting Times In Scotland So Long
By Chris McCall
A young Ukrainian refugee flew back to war- torn Kyiv for treat- ment because the wait to see a GP in Scotland was so long.
Alex Cole- Hamilton raised case of Maria, a woman now living in Glasgow, as he challenged Nicola Sturgeon on the crisis facing the NHS.
The 22-year-old took the decision to fly back to her
home city in order to take a blood test after failing to find an appoint- ment with NHS Greater Glasgow.
The Scottish Lib Dem leader had told MSPs that one in six people who were not able to secure a GP appointment carried out a pro- cedure on them- selves or had someone else do it.
Cole-Hamilton said: "Maria is 22 years old. She is a Ukrainian
refugee who has been living in Scotland since the summer. She suffers from a hormonal thyroid condition which requires regular testing and treat- ment.
"But when she presented to her new GP, she faced an unex- pected dilemma. The wait was so long that it actual- ly made more sense for her to risk travelling back to a war zone to see her doctor in Kyiv,
and so she did."
"The air raid sirens, the drone strikes and the cruise missile attacks of the Ukrainian capital were less daunt- ing to Maria than the wait for treat- ment on Scotland’s NHS. That is appalling.
“These are the risks that people are taking for the sake of their health, and all for the want of basic access to primary care.
"Can I ask the First Minister, is she embarrassed by this?”
Sturgeon told MSPs she did not know the specifics of the case the Lib Dem leader was refer- ring to.
She added: "We again continue to support general practice. There are more GPs per head of popula- tion in Scotland than anywhere else in the UK – 83 GPs per
100,000 popula- tion here com- pared to 63 in England, 63 in Wales, 75 in Northern Ireland.”
The First Minister continued: "Access to GPs like access to other areas of the health service right now is chal- lenging – and very challenging for some patients – and we contin- ue to work to address that."
Maria was waiting for blood tests in order to monitor a hormonal condi- tion which affects her thyroid and to avoid taking med- ication unneces- sarily.
The refugee was told there were no appointments for her to give blood or for other tests.
She then made the decision to seek treatment instead in her home city of Kyiv despite the ever- present danger of Russian bombing.
Speaking earlier,
the SNP leader had conceded that too many patients are hav- ing to wait too long for care in the NHS.
She said: "There are too many patients right now waiting too long for treatment."
She added: `'The vast majority of patients in this country, even dur- ing these extremely difficult times, get excel- lent care on our National Health Service and that is down to the dedication of those who work in it.
`'That is why they have my grateful thanks each and every single day.`'
The First Minister denied reports that nurses in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde – Scotland’s largest health board – are being asked to work 24-hour shifts.
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