Fears of ‘half-baked’ bid to shut down Lightburn
A GLASGOW MSP is concerned the health board may come back with a third “half-baked”attempt to close Lightburn Hospital.
The Scottish Government overturned the decision by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to close the hospital and instead said health services in the east end had to be invested in.
Ivan McKee, SNP MSP for Provan, said he has been seeking a meeting with the health board to discuss their plans but has not had a response.
Mr McKee said that the Health Secretary said the community and representatives must be involved in future plans for Lightburn.
He said: “In light of this clear expectation of co-production, I should have thought an early meeting would have been welcome and I offered it in this spirit.”
The rejection of closure plans is the second time the health board has been prevented from closing the hospital.
In 2001, then Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon overturned a decision to close and ordered investment to be made.
Mr McKee said he fears history may repeat itself yet again.
He said the community must be involved and not brought in at the last minute to “rubber stamp plans cooked up by the board i n isolation”.
He added: “The insistence on secrecy and prevarication suggests the board has learned nothing from the process which is very worrying.
“I fear it may be about to try and come back with yet another half-baked attack on Lightburn.”
The health board said work on new proposals for older people care in the East End would be carried out in the next few months.
After the Evening Times contacted the Health Board, Mr McKee said it had been in touch to agree to a meeting.
A spokeswoman for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said: “The Board and the local Health and Social Care Partnership are committed to developing a Health and Social Care Hub in the East of Glasgow.
“This development will be carried out in conjunction with local communities and appropriate stakeholders and detailed work and consideration is underway to produce appropriate and robust proposals.
“We regret the delay in responding to Mr McKee to his request for a meeting with our Chief Executive. A date has now been agreed with his office for him to meet our Chief Executive and Chairman on Monday, March 19.”
“The delay in organising this meeting has been solely due to the extreme winter pressures and our focus on managing a very difficult and challenging situation in recent weeks.”