Liberal Democrats disappointed by Health Secretary's response over St Margaret's

2.33.00pm GMT Fri 12th Mar 2010

Jo and Liberal Democrat MSP Ross Finnie and were left disappointed by the Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon's response in last nights Parliamentary debate on the future of St Margaret's Hospice.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde plan to go ahead with proposals to move 30 of the continuing care beds to a new site at Blawarthill, with St Margaret's losing funding for its continuing provision from 2013. John Bannon MBE, a non-executive board member has also raised concerns over the Board's conduct, stating that board members have not been made aware of key aspects of the decisions made concerning the future of Blawarthill Hospital which would lead to the closure of beds at St Margaret's.

Commenting, Jo said:

"I am pleased that the Health Secretary has asked for a full report from the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde on the deeply concerning allegations that it has been covering up information related to its decision on St. Margaret's, however, it is extremely disappointing that she still believes that this matter can be resolved by the Health Board itself.

"The recent revelations of a land deal with private developers which members of the Health Board were not even aware of when they made the decision to move the continuing care beds from St. Margaret's only raises further questions about the transparency of this process. I am disappointed that Nicola Sturgeon has failed call for an independent review to determine how this disastrous decision came to be made."

Commenting, Ross Finnie said:

"I was disappointed by the Health Secretary's response during last night's debate. The debate showed that there is clear all party support for securing the future of St Margaret's Hospice.

"The Health Secretary stated she wanted St Margaret's to continue but then went on to claim that the Hospice's future would be secured by continuing dialogue between NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and the Hospice. There is not a shred of evidence from recent exchanges to support the view that such discussions will secure the future of St Margaret's.

"I repeat the plea I made to the Health Secretary last night and on previous occasions that the health Secretary needs to intervene by providing some form of arbitration to resolve the dispute to secure the long term future of St Margaret's Hospice."

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Read the full debate