Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Petition calls for current site to re-enter reckoning
JUDITH TONNER
Hugh Gaffney has launched a petition calling for the current Monklands Hospital site to be reconsidered as a location for the planned new facility.
The Coat b r idge MP criticised health secretary Jeane Freeman’s “unilateral decision” to rule out the existing Monkscourt Avenue location from the re- examination of where the planned £400 million hospital could be built.
Me a n w h i l e, A i rdr i e parliamentarians Neil Gray MP and Alex Neil MSP have written to NHS Lanarkshire requesting the establishment of a “citizens’ jury” for the forthcoming reappraisal of the potential sites at Gartcosh, Glenmavis and any others which may emerge.
They want three- quarters of the group to consist of Monklands residents, to ensure local voices are heard and that the outcome reflects public opinion among the majority of the current hospital’s users.
Mr Gaffney visited the hospital this week to launch his petition – entitled “don’t limit our options” – and his call for support, which has already seen the politician and party activists begin gathering signatures from residents.
He said: “The health secretary has failed to take into account the views of the public or the impact on the wider community – at the very least, the current site should be considered by the Scottish Government and NHS Lanarkshire.
“I have launched a petition for members of the community who feel the same; the current location has good transport links and is an important place in the community.
“The Scottish Government is trying to rule out the current site [as] the home of the new hospital. The petition will be available online and I will be actively promoting it around the community.”
He told the Advertiser: “It hasn’t been included as an option in the re- run of the public consultation, which isn’t right.
“I think it’s still possible to have a new hospital where the current one is now; it’s like a jigsaw and there are ways of doing it by taking one part down while another is worked on.
“The public really want it where it is now, which is central in Coatbridge and Airdrie; that’s important to people, and their opinion in the street is to keep the hospital where it is.”
Party colleagues Richard Leonard and Elaine Smith MSPs have also criticised the decision over the Monkscourt Avenue site – with the Scottish Labour leader citing the rebuilding of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital on an existing site, while Ms Smith called the Monklands decision “shocking”.
Responding to last month’s publication of the independent review panel’s report on the hospital site options and consultation, Ms Freeman said: “I have asked that reproviding on the existing site be excluded as [this] takes longer, costs more, risks infection and other patient safety issues, while creating performance and access issues during the long construction phase.
“I have asked NHS Lanarkshire to broaden the process and work closely with the local planning authority [on] a more constructive, inclusive and open site review with meaningful public engagement – this will mean that if there are any viable sites beyond Gartcosh and Glenmavis, they will be considered.”
Meanwhile, Mr Gray and Mr Neil want to ensure that the review panel’s suggestion of a “citizens’ panel” for the reappraisal process is taken up, and that locals are “central to the process” at an early stage.
MP Mr Gray said: “One of the aspects of the review was that NHS Lanarkshire need to consult better at an earlier stage than previously and need a better feeling of public opinion; we thought a lay panel was a very good idea and hope the health board will run with it.
“Feedback should be proportionate to where the hospital is situated; Monklands residents make up 75 per cent of the hospital’s users, and people at the public meetings had a sense that they had been added at the end of the conversation and their views hadn’t been listened to.
“A very good clinical model has been developed and the team are to be congratulated for that; there’s some work to do in re- evalulating the sites, particularly at Gartcosh around a lack of information on transport, planning and contamination. We want there to be a new building as quickly as possible and for local people to have confidence in the process.”
Mr Gray added of his neighbouring MP’s petition: “I can understand why people who haven’t had all the information presented might see it as possible to rebuild on the current site; but elected representatives have had all these details and know it would be unworkable and dangerous.
“The hospital would either have to be closed and knocked down before rebuilding, leaving people without a health service; or there would have to be partial shutdowns which would be near- impossible and there would be so much waste and dirt.”
Health board chair Neena Mahal said: “The cabinet secretary has asked NHS Lanarkshire to provide her with a response to the independent review recommendations; in that, we will outline our approach to implementing the recommendations and the timescale for doing so.”