19th May 2005
McNeil Welcomes Minister’s “Bold
Move” on NHS Argyll and Clyde
MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil, has welcomed this morning’s parliamentary statement by Health
Minister, Andy Kerr, on NHS Argyll and Clyde as a “bold move which puts health
services in Greenock and Inverclyde on the road to quality and security.”
In
addition to confirming the widely predicted abolition of the board, the Minister
surprised MSPs by confirming that the £80 million debt it had managed to run up
will also be scrapped.
Speaking
after the statement, Mr McNeil said:
“I
have been pressing Ministers not to shrink from taking the toughest possible
action where it is required and I am delighted that Andy Kerr has had the
strength to make this bold move. It
puts health services in Greenock and Inverclyde on the road to quality and
security.
“This
is about more than changing the sign outside the health centre or repainting a
few vans. This announcement tackles
head-on the two issues which are causing the most difficulty for health services
in this area – geography and debt.
“Geographically,
it never made sense to have a board trying to balance the interests of remote
and urban communities. Now that we
in Inverclyde are teaming up with Glasgow to form a new board, the focus can be
put squarely on tackling the persistent public health problems in urban areas.
“Writing
off the debt – a wonderful piece of news, beyond anything for which we could
reasonably have hoped – means the new board can start planning future services
with a clean slate and with nothing other than the quality of patient care to
consider.
“Following
our discussions, the Minister is meeting with frontline staff at Inverclyde
Royal Hospital later today to reassure them about exactly what this shake-up
will mean. In the meantime, my
Westminster Colleague, David Cairns MP and I will be seeking an early meeting
with Greater Glasgow health bosses to discuss in detail the future of the IRH.”
It
has, said Mr McNeil, been clear for some time that NHS Argyll and Clyde’s days
were numbered. He continued:
“Over
a period of years and under a succession of management regimes, Argyll and Clyde
Health Board dreamt up a string of ill thought out re-organisation plans and ran
up massive debts. In the end, it
lost the trust of those it served.
“Clearly,
the Minister shares my view that allowing Argyll and Clyde to continue to limp
along isn’t in patients’ best interests.”
Mr
McNeil concluded, saying that today’s Ministerial Statement underlines how far
the public health debate has come in the past 12 months.
“Here
in Inverclyde last June, the Board presented us with a crazy scheme to end the
IRH’s days as a proper hospital and cram everyone into Paisley’s already
full-to-bursting RAH. They had no
answers to the questions over access for patients and their families; safety in
emergencies; and increased waiting times. Nevertheless, we were told it was a done deal.
There was no Plan B.
“But,
as clinicians, NHS staff, academics, unions, politicians, the wider local
community and others continued, not to make emotional arguments, but to confront
the Board with the hard facts, their case crumbled.
“That
plan is now dead in the water. And,
when Professor David Kerr’s group on the future shape of the health service
reports, we can get on with building the 21st Century NHS Scotland
deserves.”
ENDS
Back to
Current Press Releases
[ HOME ] [ News ] [ Report to the People ] [ Interact ] [ Links ] [ E-Mail ]
[ Copyright ] [ Directgov ] [ Scottish Parliament ]