Re: KC with eczema: hospital referral help needed
Posted: Mon 15 Sep 2008 6:46 am
Here we come to the old chestnut:
"The Government" in this case refers to the structures of the state at Westminster. If you were sitting in my chair with view across the broad sweep of the Clyde Estuary towards Helensburgh, the same term "The Government" would, in the context of health care, refer to The Scottish Executive. They have a department that keeps changing its name, but is currently called "Heath Scotland", and they do monitor and audit all the clinical departments in Scottish Hospitals.
They know where there are ophthalmology clinics, audiology clinics and everything else.\
The problem for people who lived Helensburgh was that they used to be in the area covered by the Argyll and Clyde Health Board. That took in every hospital from Oban to Inverclyde EXCEPT Glasgow which was covered by a different Health Board. The nearest hospital to Helensburgh is, in fact, the Vale of Leven; but the vale does not have a cornea clinic. That left two 'local' hospitals with ophthlmology departments: Inverclyde Royal Hospital and The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
It always seemed odd to me that people had to travel through Glasgow and past the door of Gartnavel to get by train from Helensburgh to Paisley. By car the route is more direct and Paisley RAH is actually much easier to reach than Gartnavel.
The Health Boards have now changed, and the old Argyll and Clyde Board has been merged with the Greater Glasgow Health Board. The new one is called "The Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board". This puts Helensburgh right into the zone covered by Gartnavel and the RAH. For people who travel to clinics by train Gartnavel makes much more sense; it is only one train ride from Helensburgh and there is a station at the hospital gate.
I wish Lizzie well with her appointment with Dr Ramaesh. He is excellent and his staff have always seemed to me to be both expert and generous with their time.
Andrew
"The Government" in this case refers to the structures of the state at Westminster. If you were sitting in my chair with view across the broad sweep of the Clyde Estuary towards Helensburgh, the same term "The Government" would, in the context of health care, refer to The Scottish Executive. They have a department that keeps changing its name, but is currently called "Heath Scotland", and they do monitor and audit all the clinical departments in Scottish Hospitals.
They know where there are ophthalmology clinics, audiology clinics and everything else.\
The problem for people who lived Helensburgh was that they used to be in the area covered by the Argyll and Clyde Health Board. That took in every hospital from Oban to Inverclyde EXCEPT Glasgow which was covered by a different Health Board. The nearest hospital to Helensburgh is, in fact, the Vale of Leven; but the vale does not have a cornea clinic. That left two 'local' hospitals with ophthlmology departments: Inverclyde Royal Hospital and The Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley.
It always seemed odd to me that people had to travel through Glasgow and past the door of Gartnavel to get by train from Helensburgh to Paisley. By car the route is more direct and Paisley RAH is actually much easier to reach than Gartnavel.
The Health Boards have now changed, and the old Argyll and Clyde Board has been merged with the Greater Glasgow Health Board. The new one is called "The Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board". This puts Helensburgh right into the zone covered by Gartnavel and the RAH. For people who travel to clinics by train Gartnavel makes much more sense; it is only one train ride from Helensburgh and there is a station at the hospital gate.
I wish Lizzie well with her appointment with Dr Ramaesh. He is excellent and his staff have always seemed to me to be both expert and generous with their time.
Andrew