Moray MP calls on the NHS to reinstate platelet donations at Raigmore
Moray MP Douglas Ross has called on the NHS to reinstate a vital blood donation service. He made the call after Forres constituents contacted him to complain that they have been told their donations of blood platelets were no longer needed as the service has been withdrawn from Raigmore Hospital in Inverness and sent south to a central hub.
Commenting Douglas said: “I have been contacted by constituents living in Forres, who previously gave-up their time once a month to travel to Raigmore Hospital to donate vital blood platelets; however, this service has now been scrapped and they can only donate at Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh or Glasgow.
“For someone living in Moray, a potential four-hour round trip to Aberdeen along with another hour donating platelets, compared to the time to get to Inverness is just not feasible, especially if they have to fit their time around work.
“These local people have saved the lives of countless people through their donations over many years, but because of these changes they will no longer be able to help.
“It’s extremely disappointing that all of a sudden donors from the north of Scotland have been told that they are not needed. If patients require blood platelets, they are sent up from a central hub which is being established in Glasgow. Surely we should be maximising the opportunities for people to donate in all parts of Scotland.”
Warwick Gouge from Forres has been donating platelets in Inverness since his wife Karen died of cancer 13 years ago. He said: “I wanted to do something and this seemed ideal and I am very sad this service has been stopped. What has annoyed me more is that platelets are now only being donated centrally.
“The other daft thing is that platelets taken at Inverness were sent south before being sent back up north again for use by patients. What we really need is a donation and storage facility in Inverness which would serve patients from Moray and the north of Scotland.
Douglas added: “This is yet another example of Moray patients being side-lined by the SNP Government’s need to hoard everything in the Central Belt and I have written to the cabinet secretary for health, Jeane Freeman, to ask for an explanation behind this decision and urge her to reinstate the ability to donate these platelets in the North of Scotland.”