27th April 2005
Fast and Full Disclosure Only Way to
Reassure Community over Infant Mortality, McNeil Tells Minister
Only the swift, full and frank
disclosure of the findings of the investigation into Inverclyde’s infant
mortality rates will reassure a worried local community, MSP for Greenock and
Inverclyde, Duncan McNeil, has told Deputy Health Minister, Rhona Brankin.
Mr
McNeil was last night in talks with the Minister, during which he made it clear
that the conclusions of Dr Gillian Penney’s special investigation into the
latest figures on baby and infant deaths should be published as soon as
possible.
He
also put it to the Minister that the Executive must make Health Boards ensure
that their planning assumptions are valid when they press ahead with service
change.
Speaking
after the meeting, Mr McNeil said:
“The
Minister fully understood the fears which these latest figures have sparked.
And it is, of course, welcome that consultant obstetrician and Medical
Director of the Scottish Stillbirth and Infant Death Survey, Dr Gillian Penney,
has been drafted in to carry out a special review of perinatal deaths in the
area.
“Under
normal circumstances, however, her findings would not be published until the
General Register Office report in November.
Given the level of concern in our community, we can’t wait that long.
The public needs swift reassurance and I therefore made it clear to the
Minister that Dr Penney’s findings must be published as soon as they are
ready. It’s also important that
as much information as legally possible is published, so we can be sure we’re
being told the whole story.”
Mr
McNeil continued, saying:
“This
latest scare has underlined the need for Health Boards, before pushing ahead
with reorganisation plans, to ensure that the assumptions on which they rely are
valid.
“I
made it clear to the Minister that, if boards are not meeting this obligation,
then the Executive has a role to play in requiring them to do so.
Boards must be able to prove that their hypotheses
are based on hard facts; have been tested; and have been found to be correct.”
ENDS