Saving rural hospitals

After years of uncertainty and a gradual but seemingly unstoppable process of downgrading services, the prospect for Scotland's rural general hospitals now looks promising. The report from the working group on the future of the six hospitals has recognised that the needs of their communities cannot be met by the policy of providing centres of excellence backed by community facilities offering a restricted range of expertise. Whenever a local hospital is threatened with closure or a diminution of the services it offers, there is an inevitable reaction against the idea and in recent years we have seen campaigns to save services in Wick, Oban and Fort William. The hospitals there, along with those in Stornoway, Lerwick and Kirkwall, will be given a new lease of life by the plans to train doctors in a wider range of skills to become more general consultants. It is a welcome recognition that in a country as diverse as Scotland, a single model will not fit all.