A recruitment crisis has forced hospital bosses to slash operating hours at “lifeline” services in Perthshire.
Health bosses said staff shortages mean it has to introduce temporary measures for Minor Injury and Illness units (MIIU) at Crieff and Pitlochry.
The changes, which will see the Crieff site no longer available at weekends, come into effect at the beginning of next month.
The Perth and Kinross Health and Social Care Partnership, which announced the review, cannot say how long the changes will be in place.
They have said the new operating hours are a direct result of recruitment challenges.
Last year, the same Crieff unit was shut for several weeks because of a lack of staff.
Robert Packham, chief officer for the partnership said: “It is essential that we provide an MIIU service with appropriately skilled staff which is safe for patients and staff.
“Our MIIU units require highly skilled nurses, who undertake specialist training to offer the full range of professional skills required by people using the MIIU services.”
He said: “Due to staffing vacancies within the service, we have introduced these temporary changes to the opening hours for the minor injury and illness services at Pitlochry and Crieff.
“We are continuing to actively recruit to these posts to replace staff with the required level of experience and expertise for this specialist service.”
From August 1, the Pitlochry unit will be open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays and from 9am to 9pm at weekends, while the Crieff unit will only operate from 9am to 4.30am Monday to Friday.
Patients are advised to use the NHS 24 service outside these times.
Conservative MSP Liz Smith said it was another “slap in the face” for people in rural Perthshire.
“Last year, the Crieff MIIU closed temporarily as a result of staff absences and I was inundated with complaints from patients who were unable to access this vital service,” she said.
“Although this is only a partial closure, it will have a big impact on local residents who are dependent on this service.
“Staff recruitment is clearly a challenge, but NHS Tayside officials have been aware of this for some time and it gets to the point where this excuse doesn’t wash.”
She added: “Rural areas of Perth and Kinross are getting the short end of the stick when it comes to NHS Tayside services and this pattern of regionalisation cannot be allowed to continue and NHS Tayside must get a grip on these problems.”
Fellow Tory MSP Murdo Fraser, added: “The Pitlochry MIIU is a lifeline service for people across Highland Perthshire and it is vital that the operating hours return to normal as soon as possible.”
He said the Scottish Government had failed to support NHS boards in workforce planning. “The brutal truth is that there aren’t enough nurses and doctors to meet demand.”
He added: “Nevertheless, the situation cannot be allowed to go on indefinitely and I am calling on NHS Tayside to put in place concrete timelines to recruit staff and return the service to normal.”
Independent Highland ward councillor Xander McDade has asked local health chiefs how long the temporary measures will be in place.
“There has been considerable concern locally about these temporary measures and within hours of the announcement I had received lots of messages from local people concerned about how long this change of hours would last, and about the future of the MIIU.”
He said: “To be clear these are temporary measures put in place while the recruitment and training process take place. There are no plans to close the M.I.U. and it is fortunate that Pitlochry has been able to keep the 9am-9pm hours at the weekends during this temporary hours change, as this is exactly when people may need to access these services.”
Mr McDade said: “Highland Perthshire is a major tourism destination receives a high number of visitors in the summer, in addition to the local population so it is vital that there is local Minor Injuries provision.
“The Dalweem Centre provision in Aberfeldy is currently not able to open due to recruitment issues, so it is fortunate and important that Pitlochry MIU is able to remain open.
“Sadly this national nursing crisis is having a serious local impact, and we should all be very grateful for the increasingly difficult job our NHS staff do. I would urge anyone who knows of nurses who might like to consider a role in Highland Perthshire to mention these vacancies to them.”
