PRESS RELEASE

February 17th, 2009

Off the bus

Duncan McNeil, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, is calling for a steering group to be set up to ensure that an Inverclyde-wide healthcare access strategy is implemented.

He has written to the various agencies involved to ensure that the cancellation of the 350 bus service to the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley is used as an opportunity to address some of the wider problems.

The service is to be cut because of lack of passenger and is to be replaced with an Inverclyde Evening Visitor Service.

The MSP said: "Access to healthcare service is a much bigger problem than simply the future of the 350 bus service. It is well known that we have infrequent and even an absence of direct services to our hospitals and where services are available there is a poor understanding of how to access them.

"The situation has a significant impact on the Inverclyde area, which has low car ownership levels and a higher percentage of elderly people within our population.

"The consultation being proposed by the health board has too narrow a focus. The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 places a responsibility on health boards and others to facilitate access to our hospitals, clinics and surgeries

"I am calling on the health board to meet those responsibilties and set up a steering group of all partners in order to bring about an Inverclyde healthcare access strategy that will improve the quality, efficiency and availability of transport, ensure best use of resources and prompt awareness of options."

The MSP also pointed to the recent failure of the proposed bill to regulate bus services to gain enough parliamentary support as a missed opportunity to deal with the inadequacies of bus services.

He said: "It is very disappointing that the recent bill did not gain the support of the other parties that would have made this task of improving our bus services much easier."

ENDS