Fears for Christie Ward's future

Published 3 Aug 2010 10:00

THE fire at the Christie Ward should not be used as an "excuse" to shut it down completely, it was claimed this week.

Jackie Baillie, Dumbarton Labour MSP, voiced her concerns to the Reporter after learning that the facility is not insured following the extensive blaze last month.

She added: "Clearly if the NHS doesn't have insurance then it should have contingency funds to deal with eventualities like this and therefore it can never be used as an excuse to divert investment from the Christie Ward."

However, council leader Ronnie McColl (SNP), who is also a NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) health board member, said it would be too expensive for hospitals to be insured.

He said: "If we were to insure everything it would cost millions of pounds.

"The rationale is that if there is a problem the likes of the Christie Ward then there should be enough money in the system to pay for it.

"The amount of incidents over a 10-year period doesn't equate to how much it would cost for insurance.

"I wasn't surprised as it is standard procedure."

An spokeswoman for NHS GGC said: "We are still working to assess the full implications of the fire and the extent of the damage at the Christie Ward.

"Scottish public bodies, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, are not required to have commercial insurance.

"We absolutely refute any suggestion that the unfortunate circumstances of a fire would be used as 'an excuse to close Christie Ward'."

Allan Dobbs, of Sunderland Avenue, Dumbarton, appeared on petition at Dumbarton Sheriff Court on Thursday charged with the alleged wilful fireraising.

He was released on bail.

Tweet

This article appeared in Dumbarton & Vale of Leven Reporter 03 Aug 10

Follow @dumbartonreport

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.