A member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) has voiced concern about a potential lack of coverage for interventional radiology services in the Scottish Highlands following the looming departure of an interventional radiologist from a hospital in Inverness.
Edward Mountain, MSP for the Highlands and Islands region, voiced his concerns this week in comments to Shona Robison, cabinet secretary for health and sport in the Scottish government, according to a 30 May article on BBC.com. Mountain said he was worried that the Highlands would have no access to interventional radiology following the departure in August of the radiologist from Raigmore Hospital.
The comments came in a discussion over the radiologist shortage in Scotland, according to the BBC article. An editorial published on 28 May in the Herald by a Scottish radiologist claimed that efforts by the National Health Service (NHS) to recruit more radiologists to Scotland had "failed." Indeed, there are four vacancies for radiologists in the Inverness area, including the interventional radiologist who is leaving, according to the BBC story.
The NHS has said that it is still recruiting for the position at Raigmore, however, and that it has arranged for the services to be covered, either through locums providers or by outsourcing to commercial providers.
