MSP George ‘won’t back RAH petition’
War of words breaks out over kids’ward closure bid
A row has broken out between children’s ward campaigners and Paisley MSP George Adam after they accused him of refusing to back their petition.
Members of the Kids Need Our Ward group say Mr Adam has repeatedly failed to back them in their quest to keep Ward 15 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital open.
Elaine Sutherland, whose little girl Amy has severe epilepsy and uses the ward regularly, has blasted the SNP man, claiming he did more to try and save the town’s McDonald’s fast food branch than the ward.
She said: “Mr Adam’s position over the last 18 months has been one of denial, with him consistently misleading the Paisley and wider Renfrewshire public that there were no plans to close the ward.
“It is a pity that Mr Adam has not provided the same level of support to the Ward 15 campaign as he showed to the multinational company McDonald’s, where he took a photo opportunity to express regret at the closure of its High Street branch.
“This was a case of putting cheeseburgers before children, and his party before the parents of the children concerned.”
Elaine is referring to claims, made back in February, that Mr Adam failed to respond to an NHS consultation on the future of the RAH.
Health board chiefs later issued a grovelling apology to Mr Adam, admitting that his concerns over axing children’s hospital care in Paisley were ignored.
It emerged that a letter Mr Adam wrote as part of the consultation on moving paediatric services was ignored.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde blamed an “administrative oversight” for not responding to the note, with chief executive Robert Calderwood admitting it put Mr Adam in a “difficult position”.
Yesterday, Mr Adam hit back, saying that he has concerns over the scope of the petition, insisting it fails to cover the key issues.
He said: “I have concerns about the petition as it seems to concentrate on the t ravelling distance for visiting times. This should not be the primary concern.
“In parliament, it was falsely claimed by the leader of the Labour party that I had not made any representations to the consultation on the proposals.
“That is bad enough, but this was then peddled to the media as fact.
“Dishonest politics brings the political system into disrepute, but to do this regarding children’s medical care is despicable. While these political tactics were being used I was doing my job.
“This was a health board decision, which now needs to be considered by the Cabinet Secretary for Health. “