Patient care losing out to car parking, Bruce tells Sturgeon (BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats)

BANFFSHIRE and BUCHAN COAST Liberal Democrats <info@banffandbuchanlibdems.org.uk>

Patient care losing out to car parking, Bruce tells Sturgeon

January 16, 2012 12:00 PM
Originally published by The Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP

Scottish Liberal Democrat MP for Gordon Malcolm Bruce has called on Nicola Sturgeon MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing to reconsider her stance on charging for car parking at ARI.

Responding to Mr Bruce's letter asking her to rethink her blanket ban and allow ARI to make its own arrangements, the SNP Health Minister stated that it is ..."the duty of NHS Boards to manage their car parking appropriately", whilst failing to acknowledge that the Scottish Government's policy means that hospitals must take money out of their clinical budgets to deal with on-site parking.

Mr Bruce said:

"The Cabinet Secretary's response is frankly devoid of common sense. Nicola Sturgeon can talk all she likes about NHS boards having a duty to manage their own car parks, but the point is that it is her government has deprived hospitals of the means to do so, short of taking money out of the clinical budget. Patient care is thus losing out to car parking.

"Presumably, the Scottish Government think this is an acceptable price to pay. I do not - I would rather ARI spent its time and money on healthcare than car parking. At the moment, patients are losing out.

"Local NHS boards are best placed to determine their own priorities. I would urge Nicola Sturgeon to think again on car parking at ARI, and allow the local NHS to seek its own solutions to the car parking problem.

ENDS