Austerity max

An angry demonstration has been staged against plans to cut health spending in Fife by tens of millions of pounds.

Unite members joined local people in staging a noisy protest at Kirkcaldy’s Victoria Hospital over Scottish government proposals to cut Fife’s NHS budget by nearly £31m, a five per cent reduction.

Brandishing placards and banners, the protesters dubbed the move by SNP ministers at Holyrood “austerity max” and called on the Scottish government to come up with more money.

Union members fear the cut will have a severe negative effect on local people.

John Gillespie, chairman of Unite’s Fife area activist committee, said the action was the opening salvo of a campaign to preserve the region’s health service.

“These cuts will have an impact on the people of Fife, on Fife Council through the health and social care partnership and on the community not-for-profit sector.

 

“It’s austerity max as far as I’m concerned. You tell me where £30.8m can be cut from budgets without it having any impact.”

Pat Rafferty, Unite’s Scottish Secretary, said,“These proposals are indiscriminately awful; cutting health spending hits everyone in society and we will oppose this all the way.

“Young or old we all need the NHS. The Scottish Government must think again.

Toxic cocktail

“Councils are in the grip of a toxic cocktail of austerity and needless pre-devolution debt which could damage services in a way we have not seen the dark days of Thatcherism.”

The union gained the backing of Fife Council leader David Ross and several Labour councillors who addressed the demonstrating workers.

Speaking at the protest Ross said the cuts were “unacceptable” and would have a “huge impact on services.”

“The scale of the savings is absolutely huge,” he said, “and will inevitably hit our ability jointly to deliver the health and social care changes that everybody recognises we need.

“It will compromise that completely. We need to take this message to the Scottish Government and say that this is unacceptable,” he said.

Later some of the protestors travelled to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh where they met Labour’s deputy leader Alex Rowley and MSP, Claire Baker, who said they shared the unions’ concerns.

Mr Rowley congratulated members for leading the fight against the cuts.

“They are absolutely clear, and I think they are absolutely right, that it’s impossible to take that level of cuts from NHS Fife’s budget without having a detrimental impact on services and people,” he said.

Mr Rowley had previously expressed fears that NHS Fife’s financial position would leave health services in the region in a critical condition.

The health board’s interim director of finance Carol Potter said the extent of the challenge faced was unprecedented and revealed potential job losses and cuts to bed numbers.

Unite and Unison now intend to address next Thursday’s full Fife Council meeting in Glenrothes.