New figures have revealed four hospitals in Perthshire have not been inspected during the lifetime of the independent watchdog.
St Margaret’s Hospital in Auchterarder and the community hospitals in Crieff, Blairgowrie and Pitlochry have never been scrutinised by Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS).
The body, set up in 2011, has yet to inspect Dundee Dental Hospital either.
They are among 36 hospitals across Scotland which HIS has never got round to visiting.
Another 29 – including sites in Tayside and Fife – have not been inspected in the last five years.
The figures were obtained in a freedom of information request to Healthcare Improvement Scotland.
Scottish Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser said the lack of hospital inspections was “deeply concerning” for patients in Perthshire.
“Inspections play a vital role in ensuring that patients and staff in NHS Tayside know that their hospital is operating as safely as possible,” he said.
“It is particularly shocking to see these figures emerge at a time when our NHS in Tayside is under immense pressure and facing the prospect of a truly terrifying winter period.”
Mr Fraser challenged health secretary Michael Matheson to “get a grip” of the situation in NHS Tayside.
“He must guarantee that hospitals in Tayside that have never – or not recently – been inspected, will be as a matter of urgency,” he added.
NHS Tayside referred The Courier to Health Improvement Scotland.
Lower risks at smaller hospitals
The 65 sites which have not been inspected in the last five years – if at all – amount to more than half of the current number of working hospitals in Scotland.
The Randolph Wemyss Hospital in Buckhaven, Fife, is among the 36 which have never been inspected.
Two other Fife hospitals – St Andrews and Cameron Hospital, Windygates, have not been inspected in the last five years.
Nor has the Whitehills Community Care Centre in Forfar.
The Scottish Government said Healthcare Improvement Scotland functioned independently of Holyrood and it was up to it to decide which sites to visit and how frequently.
A spokesperson said: “There are 44 acute hospital sites in Scotland which Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) prioritises with an aim of inspecting each of them every three years.
“HIS has informed us that all acute hospital sites and at least one major acute site in each of the board areas has been inspected in the last three years. Twenty-seven hospitals have been inspected within the last two years.”
Healthcare Improvement Scotland insisted it was targeting resources where they are most needed.
The watchdog said inspections had not been carried out at smaller hospitals where the risks are deemed to be lower.
A spokesperson said: “Taking account of changing risks and service pressures since the Covid-19 pandemic, we have been adapting our inspection process to continue to provide robust public assurance that is reflective of, and responsive to, the service pressures currently faced by the NHS in Scotland.”
HIS said it analysed data regularly in order to identify issues and adapt its inspection focus accordingly.
The spokesperson added: “Hospitals that haven’t been inspected in the last five years are smaller community or acute hospitals where available data and intelligence placed these sites at a lower risk rating.
“Our current inspection process is much broader than previous inspection approaches, considering a complex and comprehensive range of factors that impact on safety and quality of care, to provide assurance to patients and the public, and support ongoing improvements in care.”
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