SNP Looks To Reprieve Hospital’s Casualty Department

The first act of an SNP government could be a reprieve for a local hospital facing closure, it emerged yesterday. The party has promised to save the accident and emergency department at Monklands Hospital if it gets into power. And the move could even earn leader Alex Salmond a vote for First Minister from the Labour benches if the local MSP decides to put her local hospital before party loyalty.

Elaine Smith, the Labour MSP for Coatbridge and Chryston, has tabled the first motion of the Scottish Parliament calling for a reversal of the decision to downgrade Monklands. Yesterday, she did not rule out voting for Mr Salmond to save her local hospital.

She said: “If it is Alex Salmond as First Minister and Monklands hospital is not downgraded, then I have to consider the best interests of my constituents.”

Mr Salmond, who hopes to be sworn in as First Minister on Wednesday, said a reversal of the decision was one of the party’s priorities. He said he would be phoning his rival about the issue.

He added: “I had not counted on Elaine’s vote. But surely if she wants the decision reversed, she must be thinking along those lines.”

Mr Salmond also said an SNP-led government would back the controversial Aberdeen by-pass.

But in a new sign of the concessionary politics necessary in the expected minority government, he admitted other issues such as the Edinburgh tram scheme would be more difficult to get through parliament. “If you are in minority government, there are a great number of things you do that are subject to parliamentary will,” he said.

Dr Martin Watt, an A&E consultant at Monklands, warned lives will be lost if the downgrading goes ahead.

“Three A&E departments in Lanarkshire can hardly function at the moment, so to downgrade one would be dangerous. [The parliament] has to grasp the nettle by reversing the decision. It will keep the public safer.”

At the moment, NHS Lanarkshire plan to go ahead with a long-term project, including the downgrading.