Healthcare is ‘broken’, says MSP

WIGTOWNSHIRE’S healthcare crisis is ‘a symptom of a broken system’, and the blame has been laid at Holyrood’s door.

Frustrations over the state of healthcare provision in the area came to head during a members’ debate at the Scottish Parliament when Galloway and West MSP Finlay Carson accused the government of neglect, stating that his constituents has been ‘let down’.

He said: “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. Patients are waiting weeks for appointments—if they can get one at all.

“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.

“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.”

Meanwhile, NHS Dumfries and Galloway faces a £58 million funding black hole.

But Mr Carson insists that the current failures are not the fault of NHS staff or ambulance crews, adding: “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.

“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.”