MSPS have been asked to back a review of the way doctors are trained to ensure enough surgeons to staff remote hospitals in Scotland.

The Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh (RCSEd) asked the politicians to sign a pledge aimed at protecting the range of hospital services available in rural communities.

The pledge said a review of the way medical staff are recruited, trained and encouraged to develop their careers is needed to ensure patients have reasonable access to treatment regardless of where they live.

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Earlier this year The Herald revealed just one junior doctor in Scotland was undertaking a special training programme to equip him with the skills to work as a surgeon in a remote hospital.

An expert report has also highlighted a particular problem with recruitment and retention of consultants in remote and rural areas.

Without surgical care in remote spots, such as the Scottish islands, surgeons have warned women face moving to the mainland for weeks before they give birth and patients with stomach pain - who may not even need an operation - may have to be flown or driven miles to city hospitals to be assessed.

Kate Forbes, MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch, said: “As someone who has lived in both very urban and also very rural settings, I well understand the difficulties associated with providing a uniform level of care across the board.

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“I also recognise that, with increasingly specialist sub-sets within individual hospitals, it is has become increasingly challenging to replicate this level of expertise with doctors who are based rurally.

“This is a major issue for my constituents, and people living across rural Scotland, and the report reaffirmed to me the importance of a tailored focus to rural surgery working alongside the current urban-centred plan on surgical delivery.”

President of the RCSEd Mr Michael Lavelle-Jones said: “We are very pleased to have met with MSPs to highlight the difficulties facing rural surgical services.

“The RCSEd has set out a comprehensive set of recommendations but chief among these is significant improvement in the support that larger urban hospitals provide to smaller rural hospitals, to keep services as local as possible.

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“With the engagement of this group of MSPs, I hope the issue can now be taken forward within the Scottish Parliament.”

Urging medical schools to enrol more students from rural communities and creating specific rural surgery training fellowships have also been recommended.