Campaigners for hospital deserve facts

Lots of promises are made around election time. Whether it’s local, Scottish, UK or even referenda, facts and figures are thrown about in a clear attempt to win votes.

These can include what parties plan to prioritise in their next term in office, or attempts to call out others’ failings. A lot of attention is given to these claims and they can play an important part in the result of the overall election.

These can never simply be false promises, or inaccurate statements, to swing a vote (do you remember Boris Johnson incorrectly claiming the UK sent £350 million a week to the EU ahead of the referendum?), and councils and governments should be held accountable for what leaders have said in the run-up to people going to the ballot box.

That’s why it’s only right questions are being asked about why Insch War Memorial Hospital remains closed a year after First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said in the run-up to the last Holyrood election she was determined it would reopen. Now the Scottish Government says it’s waiting for a business case for the hospital.

Let’s be clear, the ultimate decision to reopen Insch, and in what form, lies with the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership.

So why would the first minister personally endorse the hospital? Why is there the need for a business case when its reopening seemed a done deal?

There are more questions than answers a year after the community thought there was light at the end of the tunnel.

It’s only fair that campaigners, including local group Friends of Insch Hospital and Community, receive answers and a clear path and timescale for the future of the hospital. Any further delay and uncertainty would be unacceptable.