Many people have told us how thankful they are that in May 2007 Inverclyde and Scotland voted to elect an SNP Scottish Government, otherwise goodness knows what would have happened to our National Health Service in Scotland under another Labour/Lib Dem Government.
 
As many of you will be aware, up until May 2007 there were plans afoot by Labour and Lib Dem Ministers to close down many A & E departments, including the one at IRH.  As we know Health Secretary Nicola Sturgeon and the Scottish Government saved our A & E services by scrapping these potentially life-threatening Labour/Lib Dem plans.

The previous Labour /Lib Dem government in Edinburgh was going to introduce car parking charges at IRH, yet another bad idea that Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP scrapped when we came to power. At that time our local MSP Stuart McMillan and SNP Council health spokesperson Councilor Jim MacLeod wrote, lobbying the Health Secretary to stop the parking charges that Labour had proposed while they were in power. This was successful and the health board were told they must not introduce such charges.
 
Councillor Jim MacLeod said: "We must never forget the damaging impact that Labour and Lib Dem Ministers in Scotland have had on our local health services in Inverclyde between 1999 and 2007.
 
"In 2003, just after the Scottish elections, the Labour/Lib Dem government made the decision close the IRH’s consultant-led maternity service at the Rankin Maternity Unit. For over three years the Save the Rankin Group, which included SNP activists, campaigned and fought to retain our full maternity service trying to safeguard mums-to-be and the lives of their unborn babies. Everyone involved realised that if one of the services provided at IRH went and was centralised in Paisley or Glasgow that it would have an impact on other local health services. It certainly did have a devastating impact when the consultant-led service was closed down at IRH.
 
"Not long after Labour removed the maternity service from the IRH we also saw reductions in many other services at our local hospital in pediatrics (children’s services), gyneacology, dermatology and ophthalmology (eyes). Throughout those years of service cuts local Lib Dem MSP Ross Finnie was a Minister in the then Scottish Executive yet said next to nothing to stop these losses. Oddly enough now he is in opposition as the Lib Dem health spokesman Mr Finnie has had plenty to say about local health matters but has not appologised for his role in downgrading the IRH. It is just a pity that he was not so vocal when he was in a position to do something about the health cuts."
 
Councillor Chris Osborne added: "Thankfully, under the SNP Government the IRH Community Midwife Unit has been safeguarded, after a successful publicity exercise demonstrating to mums and dads that it is a safe place to give birth. Similarly, the SNP has kept a full 24 hour Accident and Emergency department at the hospital.

"Experience has shown that it is only by electing SNP Parliamentarians and Councillors that our local health services are protected. I dread to think what would happen at the IRH if Labour were ever allowed to run the Scottish Government. That is why I and my SNP colleagues will be out from now until the Scottish election in May 2011 explaining how damaging Labour is for your health."