Meeting of the Parliament 28 September 2016
I welcome the opportunity once again to speak up for the many NHS patients and staff I represent, who are rightly concerned about plans to cut key local health services in the west of Scotland, including the RAH children’s ward in Paisley and maternity services at the Inverclyde Royal hospital.
I have lost count of the number of times that I have spoken in the chamber about the need to protect the children’s ward at the RAH. There has been a cloud of uncertainty over its future for far too long, and we know that the health board plans to transfer 8,000 paediatric cases from the RAH to Glasgow, which would represent the closure of the children’s ward as we know it.
I have said before and I will say again that the cabinet secretary should be under no illusions about the importance of the RAH children’s ward to local families, such as the ones I met at a public meeting that was organised by the kids need our ward campaign last week. As the health secretary has repeatedly refused invitations to visit Paisley and speak to those families, I want to relay directly to her some of what has been said by my constituents.
One Paisley mum said:
“My daughter was in Ward 15 for two weeks when she was six, the ward is very family focused and the staff are brilliant. Being close to home meant I could receive support from family which meant I was able to go home for a short time each evening. This could not have happened if she had been in hospital in Glasgow. Paisley desperately needs this ward to stay open.”
Another grateful parent said:
“Ward 15 saved our little boy when he was admitted at 11 weeks old ... being able to stay with him throughout the week and also having the support of family who live close to the hospital was invaluable. Without Ward 15, we may not have our energetic 4 year old now.”
Sandra Webster, a founding member of the KNOW campaign, described how her son has had to use the ward once a month for minor operations. She said:
“I cannot describe the upheaval, both financially and personally if we had to travel to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Having the ward in the RAH makes our lives so much easier.”
The health secretary needs to listen to the children, the staff, the parents and the grandparents who want the RAH children’s ward to be protected. She should listen to common sense and also to the communities in Renfrewshire and beyond who use the ward. Shona Robison has said that she will listen to representations. She will be aware that she has already received thousands of petition signatures calling for her to stop these plans, and I can tell her that I have with me thousands more that will be arriving with her shortly.
Virtually no one in the local area believes that the cuts to the RAH children’s ward should go ahead, and they should not go ahead.
As I said in a speech in the chamber two weeks ago, concerns over the centralisation of NHS services are not just about children’s services but about maternity services. Closing the birthing unit at Inverclyde Royal hospital would mean that women are no longer able to give birth at their local hospital, close to their home, family and friends. I think that most people would consider that type of closure to be a major service change, and one that would be a major blow to people in Inverclyde. That is why it should be designated as such, so that the final decision on birthing facilities at the IRH is taken by the health secretary. It would be good to know when she will take the decision on whether the designation of the proposal will change.
People in Inverclyde will, rightly, expect the SNP Government to take responsibility. Let us not forget that, as Anas Sarwar said, the First Minister was on the front page of the Greenock Telegraph last year promising that
“There are no plans to centralise services out of Inverclyde”.
The reality is that the future of our local hospitals depends on keeping such key services. These decisions do not only have short-term consequences and consequences only for the people who are directly affected. The centralisation of services is leaving people across the west of Scotland concerned that questions will inevitably arise over the long-term sustainability of their local hospitals.
The SNP denied that these proposals existed before the election and said that it would protect local NHS services. The Government’s amendment today mentions the St John’s children’s ward but fails to even mention the RAH children’s ward or the IRH birthing unit. It cannot possibly be reassuring to worried local families that they are not even mentioned in the amendment. If local SNP politicians support the SNP amendment over the motion, they will be putting their own party interest ahead of their community’s.
Our motion today makes clear that all these cuts should be designated as major service changes and we believe that they should be rejected by the health secretary. We know that the health secretary has the power to act. The Scottish Health Council’s guidance is clear:
“The decision on whether a service change should be regarded as major ultimately rests with Scottish Ministers.”
It is time for the SNP Government and the health secretary to listen. It is time for them to stop hiding behind the health boards that are facing financial black holes because of underfunding from her Government. It is time for them to stop hiding behind the Scottish Health Council and get off the fence. It is time for them to stop sitting back and watching while the cuts happen and vital local services are axed.
The SNP said that it would protect local NHS services. The question now is simple: is it going to or not? I hope that members from across the chamber will do the right thing, stand up for the services that their constituents rely on, and support the motion at 5 o’clock.
15:51