Winter crisis to hit NHS, claims Labour

Published on Saturday 10 January 2009 18:53

LABOUR yesterday warned that the NHS was facing a winter crisis and criticised the Scottish Government for cutting hospital beds.

Health spokeswoman Cathy Jamieson revealed official figures which indicate the number of available beds fell by more than 100 to 17,341 last year from 17,459 the previous year.

The party has also highlighted heating problems at the Southern General Hospital in Glasgow, while Labour MSP Michael McMahon claimed last week that his 77-year-old mother-in-law spent eight hours on a trolley at Monklands Hospital because no beds were available.

Jamieson said: "Nicola Sturgeon's complacency has left the NHS more exposed to a winter crisis than at any time in the last decade.

"There is no excuse for hospital wards without adequate heating or elderly patients spending hours on trolleys because of bed shortages.

"One of my first priorities as health secretary would be to increase the number of NHS beds. I am disappointed that the SNP's budget does not show nearly enough ambition for the NHS and will not create a single extra NHS bed.

"What we have seen this week is unforgivable. We need to start building on a much grander scale to ensure it doesn't happen again."

However, Jamieson's remarks sparked a furious reaction from the SNP, who pointed out that Labour cut 1,300 beds during its term in office.

A spokesman for Nicola Sturgeon said: "Cathy Jamieson should be red with embarrassment at issuing such a hypocritical statement.

"One of the reasons they were flung out of office in Scotland was their abysmal failure on health.

"And under Labour the number of beds in the Scottish NHS fell by 1,300.

"Under a Labour Government there are obvious reasons why bed numbers have reduced over time. We need fewer long-stay beds to cater for elderly or disabled people, who can increasingly be cared for in their homes or the community, medical advances reduce the length of hospital stays, many procedures are now done on an out-patient basis, and the NHS in Scotland is making better use of available beds."

Calling for an apology from Jamieson, the spokesman added: "Labour's baseless scaremongering is outrageous, and an insult to the hardworking staff whose efforts are delivering first-class NHS services over the winter months."

And he pointed out that if Labour had been returned to office in 2007, it would have closed the A&E units at Monklands and Ayr.

"The SNP saved the A&E units, and we are building a brand new Southern General Hospital," he said.