Executive failing Highlands and Islands on waiting times

MSP Jamie McGrigor has accused the Scottish Executive of failing to improve waiting times in the Highlands and Islands.

Responding to the latest ISD Scotland figures for September, the Conservative MSP said, while record funding was being put into the NHS, waiting lists were increasing in the Highlands and Islands and less patients were being treated.

Jamie McGrigor said “We’ve become used to seeing waiting time figures increase but you never quite know how bad they’re going to be.

“Orkney has seen a 25% increase in waiting times for outpatients and an increase of 3 days for inpatients and day cases. What we’re seeing is record investment across the Highlands and Islands but fewer people being treated and people actually waiting longer - that’s failure whichever way the Scottish Executive tries to spin it.

“To bring down waiting times and for more people to be seen means we have to increase capacity. That can only be done if the private sector is allowed to play a far greater role in the provision of healthcare in Scotland than it currently does.

“For that, we need to stop seeing the NHS in the narrow ideological way Labour, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats see it and start striving for the NHS we all want to see – one that puts curing people before ideological concerns”.

McGrigor: “Cases only tip of Highlands and Islands heating problem iceberg”

Conservative MSP Jamie McGrigor is now dealing with over 80 cases where work on heating systems under the Scottish Executive’s Warm Deal and Central Heating programmes has not been carried out.

Jamie McGrigor said “I am dealing with more than 80 cases to do with applications in the Highlands and Islands but my concern is that this is just the tip of the iceberg.

“While there has been some movement on some cases, who knows how many more cases there are? Who knows how many elderly and vulnerable people in the Highlands and Islands face a cold winter without adequate heating because of the Scottish Executive's failure to ensure full delivery of its schemes?

“Constituents have experienced significant delays in getting work done; there has been shoddy or even dangerous workmanship in some cases; and people have simply been denied such work on dubious grounds.

“One constituent says that she feels that she is living in a "danger zone", another has waited two years just for electric heaters to be installed. A Caithness woman was told that she could not go on the scheme because she already had heating—a 20-year-old peat-burning Rayburn.

“The Executive is always quick to congratulate itself but it should also take responsibility when things are not working. Although there are many cases in which work has been delivered successfully, there are just too many in which constituents have experienced real and potentially dangerous problems.

“The Executive must act now to ensure that continued support is available for those who need assistance in upgrading their heating systems and in improving the energy efficiency of their homes, but it must also ensure a far better delivery of the schemes”.

McGrigor calls for more information on undersea power lines option

Jamie McGrigor has again hit out at the threat of giant pylons being sited in the Highlands.

The Conservative MSP has called for more information on whether the cables could be run subsea. Mr McGrigor also backed a call by his party’s Deputy Leader Murdo Fraser for a public inquiry into the planning application for the 400kV Beauly to Denny power line.

Jamie McGrigor said “I back Murdo’s call for the Scottish Executive to launch a public inquiry into the planning application by Scottish and Southern Energy.

“Like many people in the Highlands and Islands, I am horrified by the number and sheer size of the new pylons that could be erected throughout the Highlands.

“If a subsea cable is planned to take electricity from Lewis to the Scottish mainland, could it not stay subsea until it gets nearer to where most of the electricity will be used.

“I fully appreciate that there are considerable extra costs associated with this option, however the unknown health concerns over pylons should mean it is at least fully considered. I would certainly like to see more information on its feasibility”.

Mr McGrigor also called on the Scottish Executive to encourage micro wind turbines, which provide on-site generation of electricity. This, he said, would allow properties or communities in remoter areas to become more energy independent.

“Unobtrusive small systems, which make individual houses and buildings energy independent or at least partly independent and save CO2 emissions, should be an important part of future energy policy”.