Scotland in revolt over its vanishing hospitals

[Bill Fernie]

The Herald newspaper today Monday 6 September 2004 has attacked the Scottish Executive for its refusal to act on the many protests about hospital downgradins and closures taking place. the paper has the story on its front page and two pages inside setting out all the deatails of the hospitals invloved up and down the length of Scotland. In addition a scathing editorial hits hard at the lack of action from the Scottish Executive and asks why we have a health minister at all if he cannot act.

North Action Group in Caithness has been leading the campagin against downgrading of Caithness maternity and have been attending the growing national campaign being led by Dr Ventners in Perth who also features in the stories today.

The editorial is on the Herald web site at http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/23454.html
but you will need to buy the paper to see all of the stories on this topic.

North Action GRoup meets again in Wick tonight at another of the now regular meetings to discuss the next actions and take forward the campaign. Check the North Action Group web site to leave messages or get updates. I post all press releases to the web site so anyone can get an idea of what the group are doing at any time. www.northaction.org

The NHS Highland Health Board are currently conduting the public consultation in the form a consultants talking to a number of groups in the county. No word has yet come of the promised public meetings. Gary Coutts the health board chairman at the last board meeting said their would be public meetings held in Caithness.

A further consultation and review is under way funded by the Highland Council and Highlands and Islands Enteprise to look at the affects on Social and Economic life in the north if the downgrading goes ahead. These two bodies view it so seriously that they are spending £80,000 on this study.

[Bill Fernie]

The Herald yesterday also included some details of how the areas across Scotland are affected by the changes being brough in by Health boards depsite the refusal of the Scottish Executive to take any responsibility for the changes. The Herald's hard hitting editorial also posed the question - Why do we have a Health Minister atall if he refuses to take control of this deteriorating situation.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/23450.html

The Heral was blasting the health service with all guns yesterday and in another two full pages set out more of the information from across Scotland showing what many of us have been saying for some time at North Action Group that this is not a little local problem - See http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/23446.html

[frank ward]

Malcolm 'malpractice' Chisholm wants to act like Pontius Pilate because quite simply the Health poards are doing the government's bidding.
Chisholm is inept, yes, but his replacement will continue in the same vain.

Surely NOBODY believes for one minute that these Boards are free-thinking, independent bodies?
ALL are appointed. Nobody can be elected or deselected.
They hide behind spurious 'clinical' excuses whilst invoking worse conditions.

The new chairman Garry Coutts was a political appointment. To get the job he had to declare his wilingness to sell assets such as the MRI scanner and force through the downgradings at Wick and Lochaber. People Power has so far been an obstruction, and it is the political presure on the numpties in the Labour and LibDem parties that can stop the rot.....

[Zael]

Interesting to read here also on the herald site:

http://www.theherald.co.uk/politics/23592.html

that its wasnt just Labour that backed out from the cross party group that was recently blocked, the article lists among others:

Highland MSPs
Maureen Macmillan(labour)
Mary Scanlan (tory)
Jamie Stone (libdems)

Central Scotland
Carolyn Leckie (ssp)(franks wards party?)

Looks like the SSP, LibDems, Tories and Labour are all about as good as each other.

Now where did I put that chocolate fireguard....

[lynne duncan]

Zael - try reading the article again -
"MSPs who did sign up to the group included Mary Scanlon from the Tories, Margaret Smith and Jamie Stone from the LibDems, Fergus and Margaret Ewing from the SNP and Carolyn Leckie of the Scottish Socialists"
these are the msp's who seem to have some shred of decency!!

[JAWS]

I don’t know which article you read Zael but here are some extracts for you to read again!

“LABOUR MSPs scuppered an attempt to set up an independent cross-party group to scrutinise health boards' plans for cutbacks by refusing to take part. The group attracted support from every major political party except Labour…….”
“However, the group was thwarted just one hour before it was given official recognition from the parliament's standards committee when the sole Labour politician on it withdrew. “

“Dr Jean Turner, elected as an Independent last year on an anti-hospital closure ticket, tried before the summer recess to set up the non-partisan cross-party group. Dr Turner, who sent an e-mail to every MSP outlining her plan for the group and inviting them to join, said she was taken aback by the reluctance of Labour MSPs.”

And the following paragraph seems to say that the following did take part

“MSPs who did sign up to the group included Mary Scanlon from the Tories, Margaret Smith and Jamie Stone from the LibDems, Fergus and Margaret Ewing from the SNP and Carolyn Leckie of the Scottish Socialists.”

Perhaps due to my advanced age, the onset of senility and the fact that Latin was still taught when I was at school means that my command of English is not quite as good as it was.
Perhaps Zael, you can point me in the direction of a good Primary school where I can be taught the finer points of “New-speak” or would Orwell perhaps be a better source for my education?

[Zael]

hahahahahahaha

I sit corrected :)

but I stand by by last line anyway ;)

Just goes to show how awake I was eh, I should stick to postin 1st thing in the am when I'm fresh. Seem to be a bit jaded by lunchtime, sorry peeps.

[JAWS]

The latest piece of propaganda from the illustrious leader of the Raigmore Development Board today is that there is not a deliberate policy of keeping Maternity at Caithness General under-staffed.

The whole problem is caused by lack of births (Easily solved by increasing the catchment area) and difficulty persuading staff to volunteer for transportation to the Gulag of Caithness! After having seen the utter lies about conditions in Lybster in the advertisement they placed for the vacancies for Doctors there I'm not surprised, Outer Mongolia sounded a more inviting option!

The Consultant recently disposed of has stated that he liked working here and wished to stay but that, of course, had nothing to do with the unseemly haste with which he was removed. After all, he might have applied for a permanent position and that would never do!

Had either of the Consultants been in a permanent position the Health Board would not have dared to dispose of them in such a slip shod manner. No specific allegations, no enquiries, no hearing and no opportunity to defend themselves.

Employing one incompetent Consultant would be unforgivably careless, but two at the same time and both with the same faults is completely beyond belief.

Does anybody know what they are supposed to have done wrong other than the supposed complaints by unknown member of the public and staff? Nothing seems to have been forthcoming as to the details of their alleged failing.

"You have been found guilty and sentenced. Your crime has yet to be decided!"
I thought Stalin was dead but he obviously is alive and well and pulling strings in Inverness!

[JAWS]

And by tea-time The Health Board stated that they have already made it clear that all first-time mothers have to give birth in Inverness because epidurals cannot be administered in Caithness and all the other facilities in Raigmore makes it safer there.

This had been well publicised and everybody understood this!

Both the statement about under-staffing and first-time mothers were stated in interviews on BBC News from Inverness without question, clarification or contradiction.

[JAWS]

I see the Groat managed to squeeze in a (very) few lines on the subject of all first time mothers being dragged off the Inverness to give birth.

Today’s exciting episode is again provided by Radio Scotland. The programme just after 7 pm provided the following version of the Scottish Executive’s view of the situation in the Health Service by a politician who’s name and position I unfortunately missed.

The Health Minister appoints the Health Boards so that there is local feedback for him. Those who suggest there should be National Oversight of the Service can’t also ask for democracy on the Health Boards, it’s impossible to have both., besides, the Health Boards are the best people to decide what is needed and local democracy does not necessarily provide that. Furthermore, the forth coming changes are necessary for economic reasons, change has been needed for a long time and cannot be put off. So what is happening will have to go ahead, they’ve been talking about it in Glasgow for forty years. (With the explanation so far?)

But I understood that it wasn’t for the Minister to interfere in the way the Health Boards run themselves because they are totally independent from political control.
The changes which are to be carried out in Caithness are not for economic reasons but in the best interests of the local population. The Health Board are supposed to look after the Health Service for the benefit of the local people, but a politician in Edinburgh decides who they will be.

Which version of the lies you wish to choose I leave to you, but whichever one it is remember, when it comes to local matters of health you are not intelligent enough to have a say and you might make the wrong decision so just sit down and do as your betters tell you.

Isn't it nice when a politician is so busy with the bluff and bluster that he accidentally blurts out the truth.

[Kenn]

Disraeli was reputed to have said on a visit to Queen Victoria whilst sojourning at Balmoral when in mourning, "How can I govern a country when I am 600 miles north of civilisation?"
I have checked the lists of MSPS.MPS and cannot find any one of that name but it does not list their antecedents however, it would appear to me that the spirit of Disraeli is alive and well in the chamber at Edinburgh as anything north of The Forth Bridge/Forth Road Bridge seems to be beyond the realms of the governable by those that legislate.
Whilst appreciating that health is devolved to Scotland if Westminster MPs are concerned about the matter and are being lobbied by their constituents then Scotland's First Minister had better sit up,take notice and ACT.Even an ostritch despite all the rumours to the contrary does not bury it's head in the sand but if it did it might not notice the ballot box being placed ready for the next elections.