HIGHLAND communities must speak out in defence of their local
hospitals and health service provision before it is too late, Labour's
Scottish Health spokeswoman Maria Fyfe said yesterday.
Ms Fyfe was in Inverness at the invitation of the health service union
Unison, which for the past year has campaigned against Highland Health
Board's proposals for introducing the Government's Care in the Community
programme.
The union fears the scheme could lead to the number of long-stay beds
for the elderly in hospitals being cut by 59%.
Unison has organised a rally in Inverness on Saturday to demonstrate
that the people in the Highlands will not accept such health cuts.
Ms Fyfe, however, began yesterday by congratulating Highland Regional
Council on its success in persuading the health board to delay further
cuts until proper consultation has been completed.
''Until Highland Regional Council won that, the health board seemed
determined to implement their draft plan which I gather had been
prepared without even consulting local GPs leading to serious
disagreements over the number of patients actually involved,'' she said.
''Now the health board has agreed to consult and it is my hope that
the board will actually listen to the Highland communities and their
doctors, rather than listening to the Scottish Office and the
Treasury,'' she added.
Ms Fyfe said there was widespread concern throughout Scotland about
the Government's Care in the Community programme.
''I think Highland Health Board in particular was very unwise in
publishing a draft plan calling for an enormous cut in the long-stay
elderly beds, before there had been full discussions with Highland
Regional Council's social work department.
''I think the public should recognise that they must stand up and
speak out, and if they campaign they can win battles against the
Scottish Office and the Treasury, they can win victories for their
communities for their elderly. If they play a full role and make sure
that their views are listened to, they can make changes to this plan,''
she said.
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