This week's Community Column is written by Jackie Baillie, constituency MSP for the Helensburgh and Lomond area.

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The board of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde met last week to consider the future shape of our local services across the health board area.

What we would know as an acute services review has been rebranded as the ‘Moving Forward Together’ programme. But no matter what they call it, the potential changes could be far-reaching.

They are reviewing more than 30 different service areas, but there is as yet no indication of how this will affect the Vale of Leven Hospital, and indeed the people from across our community who rely on accessing services there.

The areas under review include services such as cardiology, cancer treatment such as chemotherapy, and GP out of hours, all of which are available at the Vale of Leven Hospital.

I will keep you informed as more details emerge but I am insisting that there is full consultation on every area of change. Some changes may be weIcome, others may not, but we should have our say.

We know that the board hospital has struggled to staff the out of hours GP service at the Vale on several occasions over the past two years.

This is the most basic service, and one which should be prioritised by the health board. Yet just a few weeks ago, the service at the Vale was not staffed for the majority of the week and this at the same time as we discover that out of hours services across Glasgow were cancelled too.

The review must ensure that the out of hours service is always staffed, continues to be based at the Vale, and operates for the same hours as the current service.

Given how stretched staff at the RAH in Paisley already are, it seems obvious that ensuring services are available at the Vale of Leven hospital is the sensible thing to do. And whilst they are thinking about this, they should give patients on this side of the river increased access to the Golden Jubilee.

On the 70th anniversary of the NHS, arguably Labour’s greatest achievement, I hope that the health board sees sense, and acts in the interests of patients.

That means accepting that Paisley is a bridge too far and ensuring that services are available locally at the Vale of Leven, with increased access to the Golden Jubilee when necessary.