Press Release
20th October 2003
“My
constituents will not be corralled into Paisley” – McNeil
MSP
for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, says pregnant women in his
constituency will not be “corralled” into Paisley’s Royal Alexandra
Hospital.
Speaking
after Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm, issued his response to NHS Argyll and
Clyde’s highly controversial proposals for maternity services in the area, Mr
McNeil said:
“There
is no doubt that, in the run-up to this announcement, powerful interests in the
NHS were piling pressure on the Minister – they even went as far as announcing
the collapse of the service if they didn’t get their way.
And it is, of course, very disappointing that the Minister has not felt
able to stand up to this.
“But
my constituents will not be corralled into Paisley – especially when there’s
a world class service a few minutes up the road in Glasgow.”
He
continued:
“The
Minister says that this is the ‘best available option.’
And, when the options are do what the health bosses want or they pull the
plug, he might have a point.
“But
describing this choice as the lesser of two evils is hardly a ringing
endorsement.
“Indeed,
the fact he doesn’t even accept the planning assumptions in relation to the
Paisley / Glasgow patient choice split shows, I believe, that the Minister
shares my concerns about the fundamental flaws in this plan.”
Mr
McNeil also warned that, as he had previously forecast, the Minister’s
announcement spelled the end for Paisley’s RAH.
“I
of course welcome the commitment from the Minister that women who choose to give
birth in Glasgow will still be able to do so and I will hold him to that.
“The
Glasgow option must be there so that pregnant women in Greenock and Inverclyde
who require consultant-led treatment can be receive it in the world class
facilities at Glasgow, rather than being forced into the RAH.
“But,
while this is some comfort for us in Greenock, it spells the end for the RAH.
If you have to travel to give birth, are you going to go to the
consultant-led service in Paisley, or the university-led
service a few minutes up the motorway in Glasgow? It’s now only a matter of time before Paisley’s underused
services are surplus to requirements.”
Mr
McNeil concluded:
“This
may be an ill-conceived, unsustainable and short-sighted plan which, far from
easing pressures in the NHS, will just create a whole lot more, but at least it
has exposed some of the fundamental flaws in how the NHS is structured and run.
“Indeed,
when you see similar problems now arising in communities from Stirling to
Falkirk and from Perth to Glasgow, it is clear that this is an issue affecting
the NHS as a whole.
“I
therefore hope that the Health Committee inquiry for which I have been calling
will look very closely at how these problems have been allowed to arise and how
they can be addressed.”
ENDS
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