Arran residents have expressed outrage at North Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership’s (NAHSCP) budget consultation at Brodick Hall - describing it as “farcical” and a “tick box exercise”.
The consultation, held on January 8, was aimed at hearing residents’ views on its future plans, which will necessitate severe cuts to services to help fill a budget deficit of around £17million for 2026-2027.
The contentious cutbacks have sparked ire in the community as elderly, mental and other health services on the island are already thinly-spread and any further reductions will have dire consequences for island residents, particularly the elderly.
Attendees and those that were unable to be accommodated reported that the consultation was “engineered for minimum engagement” by only allowing small groups of 20 people into Brodick Hall at a time. Concerns were also raised about the event taking place during a limited three hour window on a weekday on a Thursday.
Many felt that they were not able to have their concerns properly aired and the majority of would-be respondents simply left as they were unwilling to join the large queue and see if they would be admitted before the event was due to close.
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