Scotland NHS shake-up risks worsening pressure on doctors, ministers warned

Exclusive John Swinney NHS Scotland Health National government Politics Doctors warn Scotland NHS reforms could harm patient care   John Swinney NHS Scotland Health National government Politics Exclusive John Swinney announced the NHS shake-up last month. (Image: Jeff J Mitchell/) This article is brought to you , and has been written . It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald. Scotland’s NHS reforms risk piling further pressure on overstretched doctors and undermining patient care unless workforce pressures are tackled alongside the shake-up, ministers have been warned. Dr Lindsey Pope has warned that reform of the health service must address the conditions driving medics out of the profession, arguing that supporting the workforce is a “patient safety issue”. The GP warned there was “always a risk with change that people just move things around” amid Scottish Government plans to reduce the number of territorial health boards from 14 to two. It is part of plans to overhaul the way public services are delivered and will be the biggest shake-up of the NHS in decades. First Minister John Swinney announced the plans in last month’s Programme for Government, stating they would streamline management and free up resources for frontline care, however very few details have been revealed about how the shake-up would work in practice. The concerns are echoed , chief executive of the Medical and Dental Defence Union of Scotland (MDDUS), who warned that the pressures facing medics “will not disappear” simply because Scotland has fewer health boards. Doctors warn SNP health board cull could make NHS ‘less safe’ 'Past point of no return': Nurses warn patients are receiving unsafe corridor care Doctors accuse SNP of wasting millions on controversial GP walk-in centre extension 'Literally crumbling': New data show extent of NHS Scotland in need of urgent repair John Swinney's NHS health board shake-up could work. But there's a danger He warned doctors and other healthcare professionals who were already stretched could be asked to absorb further disruption “often for years at a time” as services are reorganised. Dr Pope, who is also a Professor of Medical Education at the University of Glasgow, told The Herald: “Reform could be a positive if we manage to do it well and we make sure we’re thinking about these things from the start because the system is under strain. “All the evidence shows that if we look from patients’ perspectives, we hear that people are frustrated and stuck in systems, and we hear from clinicians all the time that they’re frustrated and struggling navigating workloads.