MSP blasts critics who accused her of scaremongering

Apr 10 2008 By George Topp

CLYDESDALE MSP Karen Gillon has responded with anger at suggestions she has been scaremongering over delayed health projects.

The MSP had warned that a number of long-awaited projects in the district were being delayed because of the government’s decision to keep the Monklands A&E open.

Her remarks prompted claims of scaremongering by the area’s List SNP MSP Aileen Campbell.

Mrs Gillon had predicted that the Monklands decision would result in delays to a new hospital in Lanark; a mini A&E for Clydesdale and a new Carluke health centre.

But this prompted Aileen Campbell to hit out about “scaremongering.”

She said: “Karen Gillon should stop trying to frighten the people of Clydesdale. The Scottish Government are investing record amounts in the NHS and their decision to save the Accident and Emergency Unit at Monklands has been welcomed by communities, campaigners and professionals across the NHS Lanarkshire area.”

The projects mentioned by Mrs Gillon were going ahead, she added.

But, after a meeting of NHS Lanarkshire delayed the Clydesdale developments, Mrs Gillon said she had been proven to be right after all.

“Aileen Campbell is misleading the people of Clydesdale in her contribution to the debate on primary health care developments in the area,” said Mrs Gillon.

She added: “She suggests that at no point was the future of Carluke Health Centre in doubt when, despite being at the same meetings as I was, where we were told that far from being certain as it had been under Labour, Carluke Health Centre was only prioritised eighth in September by a stakeholder event.

“I reacted to that news by meeting NHS Lanarkshire more than once to make the case for the investment in Carluke and I am delighted that the lobbying by myself, the local healthcare team and members of the public has paid off and a new health centre will now open in 2010.

“Even with all of that, people in Carluke will wait a year longer for their new health centre under the SNP than they would have under Labour.”

The Labour MSP went on to say: ”She then goes onto suggest that by having a new community hospital for Clydesdale in the investment programme from 2012 is somehow a victory.

“It is not. We were to have that hospital built and operational in 2011 under Labour but, under the SNP, work won't even begin until 2012 so it will be 2013 at the earliest before patients benefit.

“Perhaps most telling in her comments is the failure to mention or refute my ‘scaremongering’ that the community casualty unit complete with x-ray is not now going to be developed before 2012.

“This is a unit that should be open today, bringing benefits to local people by treating approxmately 65 per cent of the patients who currently have to travel to Wishaw and provide access to routine x-rays right in the heart of the constituency.

“This was a popular development and acknowledged as such by the chair of NHS Lanarkshire last week. Yet Aileen Campbell fails to mention it. Why, I don't know. But I can only assume that it is because she is ashamed her party is treating the people of Clydesdale with disregard.”

Mrs Gillon concluded: “Her local colleague Councillor George Sutherland assured me in an e-mail in August that he had spoken to Nicola Sturgeon and that ‘...she has assured me Lanark's interests will be properly taken account of.’ If that is taking account of the people of Lanark and Clydesdale, then the SNP have a strange way of supporting communities.”

Mrs Gillon also said Ms Campbell appeared to suggest that the capital investment being made available to NHS Lanarkshire was additional to what was planned but that it was not the case.

It was simply the capital investment that NHS Lanarkshire were always going to receive. Again, Ms Campbell was being economical with the truth, said the Clydesdale MSP.

She added: “I am not a scaremonger and pride myself on being truthful even when that is not in my interests.

The SNP cannot hide from the facts that it is their decision to retain A&E services at Monklands, which I accept may be welcomed by some, that is costing the people of Clydesdale the investment in health services that we need and deserve.“

“I do believe this point has also been made in the past by the local community health partnership which is made up of patients’ representatives and local health staff.

“These now-delayed developments would have saved the people of Clydesdale from much longer and more stressful journeys from as far away as Biggar, and Leadhills to Wishaw General Hospital,” she said.