NHS Forth Valley working to replace five respiratory consultants who resigned

dailyrecord.co.uk:

NHS Forth Valley says plans are in hand to maintain high quality treatment for respiratory patients when five consultants who resigned within two weeks of each other finally leave.

The health board said staff leave for a variety of reasons including career development and promotions - but the resignations were widely reported after the trade union Unison raised concerns that patient safety might be impacted.

Unison said its main concern was how patient safety would be maintained and "unsupportable burdens on staff avoided" given the difficulties with recruitment going into winter. Read more: NHS Forth Valley prepares for winter as it struggles to cope with numbers At a meeting of NHS Forth Valley's health board on Tuesday, Councillor Fiona Collie asked what impact the departure of the consultants would have on services and what contingency plans were in place if the vacancies were not filled quickly.Andrew Murray, NHS Forth Valley's medical director, said the notice periods of the five consultants would be in December and January.He said they had been working "at pace" to determine what would happen after the consultants move on.Four consultants from NHS Lothian will join Forth Valley's staff bank to deliver some of the core services, including urgent cases."We hope that will mean that part of the service is properly protected and supported and patients will still experience high quality care," said Mr Murray.The board is currently recruiting to fill the vacancies and they have had some interest.Falkirk Live brings you the latest headlines from Falkirk and beyond.But did you know all the ways you can stay informed with us?We share live news and exclusive scoops every day so make sure you're following us so we can keep