Threat to Health Board
During the fiasco that was the Manson regime I repeatedly warned that the political undermining of the standing of the Health Board would only result in the control being transferred to Highland Health Board. And the repeated failure of our then MSP, Alasdair Morrison, to acknowledge that there was a problem would have been funny were it not that serious. (I think it also cost him the election).
Now we have a new plan whereby the WIHB is to be 'twinned' with Highland Health Board (and Orkney and Shetland with Grampian) to provide 'support' and senior managment level.
A Western Isles health service insider said: "This twinning is the thin edge of the wedge which will ultimately see the migration of good-quality jobs from the islands to Inverness.
"It will commence with partnering and then move to efficiency arrangements which will lead to the senior partner directing where posts will be located and it is inevitable that these senior posts will remain in Inverness.
Or according to the Government:
"The proposed partnership arrangements have been warmly welcomed by all those involved. They will help strengthen the island boards' management and governance regimes and will enhance their independent status."
I know which view I subscribe to, and I fully support the WIHB in their view that this must be opposed if the future independence of the Board is to be guaranteed.
Or as the Health Board source says,
"It is now more incumbent upon local MSP Alasdair Allan to ensure that his party colleague Nicola Sturgeon delivers on his pre-election promise to his constituents and the NHS unions and staff that there would be an inquiry under an SNP administration."
We're waiting......
The simple test of intent is - if it is THAT good, then why didn't Health Secretary, Nicola Sturgeon, announce this during her visit to the hospital in Barra this week?
14 comments:
"And the repeated failure of our then MSP, Alasdair Morrison, to acknowledge that there was a problem would have been funny were it not that serious. (I think it also cost him the election)."
It may have contributed to his being booted out, but what really cost him his seat (and Calum Macdonald before him) was the "windfarm".
Quite right too!
I think when the truth eventually emerges, it'll be clear that our then MSP knew exactly what the problems were but tried to resolve them quietly because he shared your opinion that public political undermining of the standing of NHS Western Isles only benefits those who want its demise - and there's plenty of political will in Edinburgh to see that happen. Alasdair Morrison fought his corner successfully for 8 years on that score and now our MP and MSP must carry on the fight. They must see that it's not the thin end of the wedge, it's a heavy hammer blow to the health service in the islands and it's the first of many if politicians don't say, 'Enough'.
Anon 12.06 PM. You are quite right in what you are saying about Alasdair Morrison fighting his and the Western Isles corner for eight years.
The same could be said for education in the Western Isles where he fought exeptionaly hard in parliament for funding and received £52 million for the upgrade and building of new schools.
Yet the current MSP or MP could not deliver the £2 million they promised to try and get to keep the rural secondary schools open. Another broken promise from Dasturdly and Mutley.
Ali holds the record for the shortest post as Minister in Holyrood I believe. That says it all - he was useless. Thing was he had no competition in those days. SNP's Ali Nicholson had failure written all over him.
Anon 1:07 PM,
I'm not aware of the £2m promise you talk about - was this in the election manifesto? If you could provide a link to the literature containing the promise, that would be very useful. It's important that politicians are taken to task on election manifesto pledges which aren't followed through on.
As for "broken promises" though, governments should be judged at the end of their term rather than after a year. The electorate will, of course, be the ultimate judge at the end of the term.
The SNP have already implemented a number of their election pledges (RET pilot for the Western Isles, cutting small business rates, saving A&E in Monklands, etc) and have committed to others (the independence referendum).
True, they removed the £2,000 first-time buyers grant on the advice of independent experts, who advised that such grants would be of no benefit to first-time buyers. Many would applaud the bravery of a government willing to heed such advice, even if it means having to deliver "bad news".
For info, the SNP 2007 manifesto is here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/6548717.stm
Hope this is of use to you.
By the way, resorting to name-calling cheapens your argument and reduces the debate to the level of the schoolground.
Anons 2&3. Ah the sophisticated poltical scene in the Western Isles. Excellent loveable Labour MSP and MP get booted out by idiots. Scotland infact. Excellent loveable cash rich Labour Government get booted out by idiots who cant fund schools properly now. innit?
Absolutely. Get Labour back in. Guffaw Guffaw.
Now, speaking of Labour and Schools. What can we expect from them in the Western Isles?
I know a song about that. Dont we Zippy? Yes here it is
Some vote yes
some vote no
some vote whichever way the wind blows. oh oh oh
Will our schools stay open
not if they say so
no no no
mibbees aye I have to fight
against the gallant barrach and I think I just might
vote to keep them open
no no no said the labourites galore
ya better be consistent now you have joined our ranks once more
no no no
yes yes yes
mibbes
no.
Like it?
Anon 1.07 PM. This £2million what was mentioned was said at the first public meeting in Bayble school regarding the closure of the two year secondary. Oh and what about the abolition of student loans that they promised. As for what you mention about a pilot scheme for RET. It is not RET it is cheaper fares there is quite a bit of difference as Angus showed many months ago when this was announced.
Anon 9:31pm,
I cannot comment too much on what happened at the Bayble school meeting - I wasn't there. But you said they promised to try and get £2m. If they have tried, but the £2m was not forthcoming (for whatever reason), then this isn't a broken promise. I'd suggest you contact them to ask for an update.
As I mentioned, you should judge a government on their manifesto pledges at the end of their term. The SNP manifesto does not say they'll abolish student loans. They did promise to abolish the graduation endowment, which has already happened.
RET is due to be introduced in the autumn. I appreciate that Angus has tried to shoot this down in flames, but their RET fares are based on advice from independent experts. (I'm sure the fact that fuel prices have rocketed up recently hasn't escaped your notice - it wouldn't surprise me if the proposed ferry fares were actually lower than RET now!)
I'd have hoped you'd be congratulating the SNP for delivering RET, something which the previous Labour/Liberal administrations failed to deliver.
Anon 9:31pm I congratulate the SNP Government on giving us a pilot scheme on cheap ferry fares, but it is not RET. RET is where it costs the same to travel by sea as it would cost on the road.
Also it has been checked in the Parliamentary minutes regarding the £2 million. Also both the MP and MSP have been asked about it and nothing was done about it.
Anon 10:14 am,
The new fares are a Road Equivalent Tariff.
Here's the Scottish government information about RET and the pilot scheme being introduced:
http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Transport/ferries-ports-canals/14342/TARIFF
Getting back to the original post, it was made clear yesterday that NHS Western Isles is not due to be merged or subsumed within NHS|Highland:
http://search.bbc.co.uk/click/p/1/ds/headlines/t/NHS%2520board%2520merger%2520%2527not%2520on%2520agenda%2527/id/17231391315186121524986033108130000/-/http%253A%252F%252Fnews%252Ebbc%252Eco%252Euk%252F1%252Fhi%252Fscotland%252Fhighlands%255Fand%255Fislands%252F7487797%252Estm
Anon 10:14 am. So because the SNP government said it was RET you believe it. If they told you they were going to abolish student loans or give a start up grant for first time buyers would you believe them. Well you obviously did believe them.
Anon 9:35pm,
See the entries at 6:36 and 10:35.
You may not be willing to acknowledge the facts, but the SNP are following through on their 2007 election manifesto.
There's a lot of hard work ahead for the government, but the SNP are delivering for Scotland and delivering for the Western Isles.
Anon 11:10 AM. If you look at how much it costs to drive to Tarbert and back to Stornoway you will then notice it is not a Road Equivalent Tariff they are offering.
Also student loans and a start up grant of £2000 for first time buyers was part of the SNP manifesto so where are they following through. The only follow through they have had has stained their underpants.
Anon 2:28pm,
The ferry fares ARE based on the equivalent road costs. The RET rates were supplied by independent experts who are in a better position to provide these than you or I. If you choose to ignore this fact, then fine.
The manifesto says the SNP will scrap the student graduate endowment and replace the student loans system. The endowments have already been scrapped, and I'd hope the government are working hard to replace the student loans system by the next election.
The government did not follow through on the £2,000 first time buyer grant, on the advice of independent experts, who said that the grants would not have a real benefit for first time buyers.
Of course, there are several other manifesto promises which have been completed (eg, lower prescription charges, saving Monklands A&E, smaller business rates, fewer government departments) and others are on track (eg, referendum on independence).
Again, you may choose to ignore these if you want...
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