Health Con International

With the Health Care International fiasco rumbling on in 
Clydebank, it is time to ask just what is happening to our 
hospitals and health services.

At the same time as millions of pounds worth of subsidies have 
gone into profiteering for the wealthy at Clydebank, Greater 
Glasgow Health Board have chosen to make across board savings of 
z56 million by cutbacks in services. Whole hospitals, such as the 
Western Infirmary and Rutherglen Maternity are to be completely 
closed (The Courier, 23/12/94).

This leaves many people having to travel further to be admitted 
to hospital and the obvious dangers this creates. It leaves 
friends and relatives isolated miles away from hospitals, causing 
practical and financial difficulties and making many reliant on 
inadequate public transport to visit people in hospital or be an 
out patient.

Far from condemning this situation, Labour M.P. Sam Galbraith is 
quoted as saying "Greater Glasgow Health Board are to be 
congratulated on this sensible proposal" (Courier, 24/12/94). 
With so little opposition, it is will be hardly surprising if the 
Scottish Office rubber stamp the plans. The Scottish Office, 
while happy to see z17.6 million of public money "written off" 
after the HCI failure and another z4.4 million offered as a 
"sweetener" to business interests (The Herald, 16/1/95), may find 
money too tight to mention when it comes to health care for need, 
not profit.

Of course, other expenditures do not meet the same criteria. The 
Eurofighter, designed to combat a nonexistent soviet threat, will 
cost z13 billion (probably double that) and the National Audit 
office has discovered that z800 million has been "lost" in 
putting up huge sheds for Trident. Not forgetting the z23 million 
owned in corporation tax or the z1600 million owned in unpaid 
VAT.

We have one option, ordinary people must make their voices heard, 
resist the cuts and the corrupt system that goes with them.
 



