Local families are now facing a serious healthcare crisis that is worsening by the day, local constituency MSP Finlay Carson has warned.
He fears the “greatest threat” to rural healthcare is not distance but the chronic failure to recruit and retain the workforce needed to deliver care.
And the Galloway and West Dumfries MSP insists that this failure lies squarely at the door of the SNP Government who unless they come up with a drastic rethink are now approaching the point of no return.
Speaking in a members’ debate he initiated, Mr Carson argued: “Let me by absolutely clear, rural Scotland – particularly communities in Stranraer, the Rhins, and across Dumfries and Galloway – have been let down.
“Not by geography, but by government choices. Choices that have stripped away vital health and care services without ensuring replacements were ready.
“Let us look at what is happening in Wigtownshire right now. GP shortages are critical. The practice in Drummore is closing its doors, and others may follow. Patients are waiting weeks for appointments—if they can get one at all.
He stressed: “This is not just inconvenient; it is dangerous. When people cannot access primary care, conditions worsen, and the pressure on hospitals intensifies.
“Ambulance response times in the Rhins are unacceptable. Paramedics are harder to recruit locally, and those who do join are stretched to breaking point. I have spoken to crews who finish a 12-hour shift only to be called back because there is no one else to cover. That is not sustainable.
"At Galloway Community Hospital, diagnostic and treatment capacity is limited, and maternity services have gone. Some mothers are forced to travel 90 miles to Dumfries to give birth, worried their baby might arrive in the car.
“That is not progress—that is neglect. And it is happening because this Government dismantled local services before replacements were in place.”
The Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP insisted these are not isolated incidents but, worryingly, are symptoms of a broken system.
He told MSPs: “Cottage hospitals have closed, but the promised community hubs and step-down facilities never materialised. The result? Delayed discharges, blocked beds, and patients stuck in acute wards for months because their homes cannot be adapted. Families are paying the price.
“I spoke to a constituent from Newton Stewart who should have been discharged from hospital but had nowhere to go because the local cottage hospital had closed, and there was not enough money in the aids and adaptations budget to make his home accessible.
“He ended up stuck in an acute ward for months, blocking a bed that someone else desperately needed. And the saddest part? He knew it and felt guilty! That is what happens when you dismantle services before alternatives exist.”
Mr Carson fears the crisis is set to deepen further as NHS Dumfries and Galloway faces a £58 million funding black hole.
He explained: “Integration Joint Boards are staring at cuts that make it impossible to invest in community care or recruit staff. These cuts are not just numbers on a spreadsheet—they translate into fewer services, longer waits, and more suffering for rural families.
“We can’t have any more broken promises and empty words.”
“This Government promised 800 new GPs by 2027. Where are they? Rural practices are struggling, vacancies remain unfilled, and community pharmacies are under pressure trying to pick up the slack. This is not a workforce strategy—it is a workforce crisis.
“And yet, the Government’s response is more reports, more consultations, more talking shops. As Dr Gordon Baird said: “You can’t fatten a pig by weighing it.” Scotland does not need another review—it needs action.”
Mr Carson believes there needs to be a clear, funded plan to tackle rural health inequalities.
This includes:
- Recruitment and retention incentives—housing support, relocation packages, and career development for rural posts. If we want doctors, nurses, midwives, and paramedics to come to Wigtownshire, we need to make it attractive and sustainable.
- Restoring local capacity—do not close a service until the replacement is operational and staffed. That means no more dismantling maternity units without alternatives in place. No more closing cottage hospitals without step-down facilities ready.
- Investing in community beds and step-down facilities to prevent delayed discharge. This is not just about patient dignity—it is about freeing up acute beds and reducing pressure on hospitals.
- Expanding diagnostic and treatment capacity at Galloway Community Hospital, with the workforce to deliver it. That includes restoring confidence that local people can access care close to home.
- Improving ambulance response times through rural-proofed planning and staffing. That means training and recruiting paramedics locally and ensuring resources match the geography.
None of the current failures are the fault of local NHS staff or ambulance crews, the Galloway and West Dumfries MSP insisted.
He said: “They are doing an incredible job under impossible circumstances—working long shifts, driving hundreds of miles to deliver care. They deserve praise, respect, and support—not the constant pressure caused by poor planning and underfunding.
“I have spoken to nurses who drive hundreds of miles to deliver care in remote communities. They are heroes. But heroes cannot hold up a broken system forever.
“Rural Scotland pays the same taxes as everyone else. It deserves the same standard of care. Yet right now, communities in Stranraer and the Rhins are being asked to accept less—less access, less choice, and less safety. That is unacceptable.
Concluding he explained: “This Government has had years to fix this. Instead, rural communities have been treated as an afterthought.
“I say this clearly: rural Scotland will not be left behind. We will not accept the dismantling of local services without replacements in place. And we will hold this Government to account until every patient, wherever they live, has equal access to care."
