28-04-2025
Scots city's concrete crisis causing major trauma for residents doctor warns
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A GP told how dangerous RAAC concrete has caused a mental health crisis.
Dr Adrian Crofton runs a health practice in an area where hundreds of homes were found to be affected by the dodgy material.
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Homes in the Balnagask area of Aberdeen have been blighted by RAAC
Credit: Dave Johnston
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Dr Adrian Crofton revealed residents have sought medical help
Credit: FACEBOOK
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John Meiklejohn went to his local GP over the stress caused by RAAC
Credit: DAVID DONALDSON
He revealed it's taken a massive toll on locals in Aberdeen who are desperately seeking help and medication to cope with the turmoil.
Dr Crofton said: 'There are quite considerable levels of distress arising from this process.
'We are prescribing sedatives, sleeping medications and anti-depressants to people who would not otherwise have needed these, and they are not medications we use needlessly.
"There's a lot of anger. We stick to prescribing guidelines when it comes to these medications but we are often left with very little choice."
In 2023 council bosses revealed they had discovered collapse-risk RAAC in more than 500 homes in the Balnagask estate.
A total of 366 are owned by the local authority but another 138 are privately owned in the scheme that's part of the Torry suburb.
Officials have decided the best option is to rehome residents and demolish the properties.
More than 18 months on from the discovery many council tenants have been rehoused while owners are trapped.
Talking to the Press and Journal Dr Crofton told how some locals have turned to booze to deal with the stress.
He said: 'The health and well-being of Torry people is suffering. It's pretty grim.
What is RAAC concrete?
It's the duration of this that's most troublesome.
'This is long-term, sustained pressure that these people can't escape from. There's no holiday they can take, or rest they can have from this."
The medical practice is the largest in the area and treats more than 7,000 patients.
But Dr Crofton claimed the council has made no attempt to get in touch and discuss any of the potential health issues thrown up by RAAC.
John Meiklejohn, 61, is one of the affected homeowners and was forced to get medical help.
He fears he could lose as much as £100,000 if council bosses demolish his four bedroom home.
The IT consultant said: 'It's taken it's toll on a lot of people, including myself.
'I could only sleep for about two or three hours a night.
'The whole thing would be going over and over in my head. If there was any kind of council announcement I would feel anger.
'I'd be awake just thinking about what I could do. Plus I noticed I was drinking a bit more at the weekends to cope.'
John quit as chairman of the Torry RAAC campaign group because he felt he couldn't do the job properly.
He's now been given medication for stress and to help him sleep and is considering attending a counselling session set up by the council.
He said: 'It's going to be a long time before this is all sorted out. I'm stuck.
'They can give me all the counselling they want, but it's not going to resolve the main issue.
'If they're not going to pay me what my house is worth then the stress and worry is not going to go away.'
Aberdeen City Council said they had commissioned services from Scotland Action for Mental Health which were available to anyone affected by RAAC.
A spokeswoman added: "An integrated impact assessment was undertaken as options were explored.
'Discussions were undertaken at senior level with the Integrated Joint Board."
