25th March 2005
McNeil Demands Mortality Figures Probe
Commenting on the publication of the Registrar General's provisional figures for
vital events registered during 2004, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, Duncan
McNeil said:
“I
don’t want to jump to conclusions, but these figures are, on face of it,
alarming.
“I
have been asking the Health Board for some time to show that their re-organisation
of services has actually improved patient care.
Indeed, back in September, I asked the Board whether, in the year since
our maternity and paediatric services were centralised, the number of women from
Greenock and Inverclyde giving birth to still-born babies risen or fallen.
Now I know why they gave me a less than illuminating answer.
“When
I quizzed then Health Minister, Malcolm Chisholm, in the Chamber last year, he
stated categorically that ‘when any changes have taken place, it is
important to monitor their effects.’ But
if the effects of centralisation are being closely monitored, why are these
figures buried away in a report published at the start of a holiday weekend?
“The
reasons behind these mortality rates must be properly investigated and, more
importantly, addressed. I will
therefore be seeking an urgent meeting with the Health Board management and will
be making representations to the Health Minister.”
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