Don’t move hospital

Dear Editor,

Regarding a new hospital at Gartcosh [Advertiser, June 13]:

Gartcosh is not easy to get to if you do not have a car; it is in the middle of nowhere.

Public transport is not easy to use as it can involve two or three buses. Many services stop at 6pm and do not run on Sundays.

Most people can manage to Monklands Hospital by public transport, Monday to Saturday; whereas a taxi from Airdrie to Gartcosh costs £12.

Very few people could afford £24 per return journey in order to visit a patient at Gartcosh.

If the patient is in hospital long-term, sadly they would not have many visitors, which would not be good for their morale and could hinder recovery.

Would you like to be in hospital, especially longterm, and get very few visitors, and not see family and friends? Visits from them are as good as the best medicine.

Papers said“business will follow”a hospital at Gartcosh. What about the nursing, domestic, portering and canteen staff, many of whom are reasonably local to [the current] Monklands Hospital?

Are they not worthy of consideration regarding travelling to and from Gartcosh (many doing early and late shifts)?

Is it the Scottish Government’s policy to“close down Airdrie”? Our Monklands Hospital is being nibbled away, bit by bit.

This must stop. If politicians think our hospital is broken, then please, please, please fix it!

I hope common sense will prevail and our hospital will remain where it is wanted and needed.

We have a great hospital with great staff, through all levels from nursing to domestic. We need our Monklands Hospital.