Pop up stall event caused confusion in Moffat

CONFUSION has arisen in Moffat regarding a recent consultation about health services held in the town.

The pop-up event was held outside the garden centre on Wednesday November 12 between 2 pm and 5 pm as part of the ongoing General Medical Services (GMS) Review.

The aim was to gather public feedback to be fed into the health board’s plan for the future of GP services in Upper Annandale.

However, some residents in Moffat have been critical of the pop-up, claiming there was a ‘lack of advertisement’ within the community.

Addressing the claims, a NHS Dumfries and Galloway spokesperson yesterday said: “The location and time for the Moffat event were confirmed on 28 October; the placeholder details originally listed as ‘TBC’ or ‘to be confirmed’ were then updated and then actively promoted.

“A total of 16 responses were gathered in Moffat, comparable with Annan Tesco where we recorded 16 responses and the atrium at Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary where we recorded 17 responses.

“We are not aware of any residents who went along but were not able to contribute due to choice of venue for the simple reason that our staff were situated outside on the pavement and actively reached out to everyone who passed the location – inviting their contribution.”

However, the event was a point of lively discussion at Moffat and District Community Council’s monthly meeting last week, with chair Liam O’Neill dubbing the situation ‘farcical’.

He added: “The day before it was due to take place we still hadn’t received any confirmation about where it was meant to held, and I ended up phoning and asked what’s happening, we’ve had no notification of when this consultation is taking place, and I was told it was being held at the garden centre.

“It’s farcical, if you wanted to use a commercial space for this kind of event and catch a lot of people, the Co-op would have been a much better choice, or even the town hall because that’s where most of these things are held. Not to denigrate the garden centre at all but it does seem a strange choice.”