Despite fierce protest by local communities, Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board are proposing that anaesthetics and unscheduled medical care should be removed as part of a scaling down exercise at the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria.

This comes on the heels of the closure of consultant led maternity care and the Accident and Emergency Unit in 2002.
The proposals recommended that future emergency patients should go instead to Paisley’s Royal Alexandra Hospital . This was given the go-ahead by the previous Labour Health Minister.

If anaesthesia cover is removed this will lead to the withdrawal of acute services like the High Dependency Unit and Coronary Care. The hospital retains a Minor Injuries Unit but this also appears under threat in its present location.
People with serious injury or illness have had to suffer the trauma of travelling many more miles by ambulance to a hospital in Glasgow or Paisley along the A82, a busy road which has more than its fair share of hold ups and traffic jams. It can take day care patients hours to travel to Paisley causing much stress particularly among the elderly. Add to this the dramatic increase in the number of women giving birth in the ambulance as they are rushed from the Vale of Leven to Paisley. Ambulance services have been stretched to the limit in an attempt to cope.

Even the future of the present mid-wife led maternity unit at the hospital is in doubt as more and more women understandably want to travel through to Paisley were they can get consultancy based maternity care. These developments, stemming from legitimate concerns of the local population will allow the Health Board to come back at a later date demanding even more cuts.

Clearly all this has a demoralising effect on staff at the hospital and many who see no future are looking to go elsewhere. Again, this plays into the hands of the Health Board who will use it to claim that patients would be better served in Paisley.

Of course, we know that the actions of the Health Board have got nothing to do with developing modern health care provision in the area and everything to do with saving money. These people, who are making life and death decisions for our community, understand the cost of everything and the value of nothing. To them it is not about people but about money.

Their consultation exercise has been a sham. When over 4000 people can form a human chain around their hospital in protest and they still go ahead with cuts we know these Health Boards are not listening.

The fury of the local population is tangible. At a recent meeting in Bonhill over 1000 people turned up. This is a measure of their determination to save health care services.

The SNP gave a clear commitment in their manifesto to keep services local and the Health Minister has said that there will be an independent review of the Health Board’s plans. However, it would be wrong to wait solely on the decisions of politicians as they also will see health care provision in term of money instead of people. It would not be the first time that a government reneged on its election promises.

The future of the hospital must be determined by the local community. We will send a clear message to the politicians and the Health Board that they have a fight on their hands.

Jim Halfpenny, Solidarity