Statistics released from the SNP Scottish Government have revealed that thousands of North East patients could potentially lose out should Scotland vote to separate from the rest of the UK. In the last ten years, tens of thousands of inpatient and outpatient appointments have been made at English hospitals for North East residents.
These are allowed to be made as part of the cross-borders agreement between the NHS in England and Scotland. If Scotland chooses to break-away it would be regarded as a foreign country and such arrangements would no longer be in place.
Over the last ten years North East residents have been given 9, 833 outpatient appointments in England, and 2,310 inpatient appointments.
Dr Nanette Milne, Scottish Conservative MSP for the North East said:
“We gain many benefits from being part of the UK, but few are as important as the cross-border integration we have with the NHS in England. Every year thousands of North East patients travel down to England for medical appointments, often so they can gain access to the care they need more quickly.
“If Scotland chooses to separate from the rest of the UK this September, these cross-borders arrangements could be jeopardised. Restricting access to important and often lifesaving state of the art medical care.
“It is just another example of how much we gain from being in the United Kingdom, and a stark reminder of what we stand to lose should we split from them. These figures show just how strong the bond between health boards in Scotland and the rest of the UK is, and we would be foolish to break it.”
“I have no doubts that the SNP will use their usual ‘scaremongering’ rebuttal to these concerns, but the Scottish people are starting to see through their bluster. The true costs of independence are now being seen by voters across Scotland as they move to reject Alex Salmond and his Separatist Agenda.”