Marchers rally to revive 'Brigadoon' hospital

Stakeholders called a Day of Action on March 16, in a letter to the new health secretary Neil Gray, the NHSH board, MSPs, councillors and community councillors.

 

Their campaign now has cross-party support from Highlands and Islands MSPs, most of whom will join a march through Fort William from the Parade to Gordon Square, urging Holyrood or NHSH - or both - to intervene.

 

Conservative MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston said: "It is vital planning isn’t allowed to stall and that progress continues to be made.

 

“I raised this at First Minister’s Questions a few weeks ago and instead of accepting any responsibility for either himself or his government, Humza Yousaf once again just passed the buck for these further delays.

 

“Given how strongly the community has been campaigning for its new hospital, that deflection is shameful."

 

He is attending the march to give "full support to the local community and the staff who deserve the new hospital they’ve been promised for so long".

 

Labour MSP Rhoda Grant, who will also be there, said: “We can’t defer everything until 2026. Fit for purpose hospitals are not a luxury, they are a necessity and the people of Lochaber have been badly let down by the Scottish Government.

 

“Stalling at this stage would mean more money would need to be spent on the preparatory work once funding becomes available again. This is not an option we should be looking at. We need to press forward with the Outline Business Case now.”

 

Green MSP Ariane Burgess, who has a visit to Dalwhinnie scheduled that day, said: “The Scottish Greens fully support the construction of a new hospital to replace the Belford and share our communities’ frustration at this further delay. 

 

"The Scottish Government has had to reckon with an extremely difficult budget settlement and in those circumstances it’s right to prioritise maintaining current provision and investing in equipment until inflation is back under control.

 

“An independent Scotland could borrow funds to invest in vital infrastructure like this but with limited borrowing powers and no say over the reckless financial decision-making of the Tory Government, there is little option but to halt projects until inflation falls and capital funding streams improve."

 

Fort William’s Liberal Democrat councillor Angus MacDonald told the Lochaber Times: "If the new Health Minister Neil Grey were to come to the intended march, he would fully understand the fury of Lochaber folk who have been patiently waiting for two decades for our new hospital. West Highlanders feel we completely fail to get our share of infrastructure spend."

 

Sarah Fanet, SNP councillor for Fort William, added: "The work by NHSH must continue to allow the Outline Business Case to be completed by October as scheduled."

 

John Grafton, Liberal Democrat councillor for the Caol and Mallaig ward where the new Belford hospital’s Blar Mor site is, said: "I believe that because of the legal framework of health boards – the board cannot legally object or reject the Scottish Government’s direction to halt all projects. The board’s hands are tied – so maybe don’t blame them.

 

"I cannot overstress the importance of the new hospital and the accompanying service re-design to the people of Lochaber and to the people of the Highlands as this facility may well assist in reducing the ‘bed block’ experienced at Raigmore."

 

Comparing the new Belford hospital to the vanishing visage of Brigadoon, he wondered: "Maybe if I believe hard enough it will come back?"

 

For more, see the NHSH column on page 4.