Academic To Head The Panel Deciding A&E Fate

One of Scotland’s leading academics has been called in to decide the fate of threatened accident and emergency units. Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon yesterday appointed Dr Andrew Walker to head a panel on the future of departments at Monklands in Airdrie and Ayr Hospitals.

Ms Sturgeon announced in June that she was reversing a controversial decision by the previous Scottish Executive to close the A&Es.

Dr Walker, a health economist and senior lecturer at the University of Glasgow, and his team will scrutinise revised proposals being drawn up by NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Ayrshire and Arran.

Dr Walker said: “Local people and clinicians will rightly expect the revised proposals which come forward from the boards to be robust, evidence-based, patient-centred, and consistent with clinical best practice and national policy.

“I am delighted to be asked to chair the independent panel, which will have access to expert clinical and financial advice, and which will take account of the views of local people in scrutinising the boards’ revised proposals.

“The panel will assess the safety, sustainability, evidence-base and value for money of the revised proposals, and will carefully consider the views of local communities before reporting on our findings.”

In the past, Dr Walker has emphasised the need for local people to have their say in the NHS but also for a realistic debate about how scarce resources are used.

Last month, he pointed out that many people had to recognise there was an issue of resources to be discussed when funding drugs, saying: “We are going to face a growing mis-match between the resources we have available and the demands placed on them and people have no idea that it is even a problem.”

The work of the Ayr and Monklands panel is expected to begin in September and to run through until the turn of the year. It will not examine other controversial hospital shake-ups including the changes in Glasgow and at St John’s in Livingston.

The panel will have three members besides Dr Walker – a clinical expert, a financial professional and an individual with expertise in the field of public engagement and consumer interests.

Last year’s closure announcement came despite huge protests in Ayrshire and Lanarkshire against the proposals.

Labour MP and then Home Secretary John Reid even criticised his party colleagues to join demonstrations against the closure of Monklands A&E, which is situated in his Airdrie and Shotts constituency. However, the new SNP administration overturned the decision.

Ms Sturgeon said yesterday: “I announced in June that I was reversing the decision taken by the previous administration to close the A&E departments at Ayr and Monklands.

“I asked that NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Ayrshire and Arran develop revised proposals to ensure that A&E services continue at their main hospital sites, and was clear that these would be subject to independent scrutiny.

“I considered it vital that the chair of this important panel should be someone with extensive experience of the NHS, someone of standing within the health service, and someone who is demonstrably impartial and objective. In Dr Andrew Walker we have a chair that perfectly fits the bill.

“The terms of reference make it clear how the independent scrutiny panel will consider and report on the revised service options. I have already agreed with the boards that their final proposals, having been scrutinised and evaluated by the independent panel, should be with me for a final decision by the turn of the year.”

However, Labour’s health spokesman Andy Kerr questioned Dr Walker’s appointment.

The former health minister said: “I am sure this will be met with some degree of concern amongst those most closely involved with running our health service.

“As a previous SNP adviser there is a real fear the appointment of Dr Andrew Walker is a political appointment to do a political job.

“Nicola Sturgeon has shown over recent months that she is more concerned with making dangerous headline grabbing announcements than heeding clinical advice or putting the safety of hospital patients first.”