Published: Tuesday, 19th January, 2010 12:00pm

The Nationalist Voice

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RECENT figures show the dramatic effect the SNP Government's investment in tackling hospital acquired infections is having across Scotland.

The number of Clostridium difficile (C-diff) cases amongst the over-65s has fallen by 55 per cent since the SNP Government took power in 2007.

From a record high during the last Labour Scottish Executive of 1,775 cases between January and March 2007, it has dropped to 805 cases in the most recent quarter.

Nicola Sturgeon, Health secretary, has introduced a range of measures including bringing cleaning back into the public sector and the introduction of the Healthcare Environment Inspectorate, which are all key steps in cutting C-diff rates across Scotland.

Currently, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) is performing better than any other health board and our own Vale of Leven Hospital has the lowest rates within the board area.

Halving the C-diff rates in just over two years is a major achievement of the SNP Government and the NHS and it is time that opposition politicians, including Jackie Baillie, Labour's shadow Health secretary, acknowledged the real improvement in standards in our hospitals after [Labour's] years of neglect.

HYPOCRISY seems to be the name of the game for Labour politicians during the recent extreme Winter weather.

Whilst criticising the Government and local authorities regarding gritting and salt stocks, Labour's leader in Holyrood, Iain Gray, fails to acknowledge that Labour had proposed a £10m cut in the roads budget last year and another £10m in the year ahead.

Had Labour's budget succeeded it would have had a disastrous impact on our roads during the recent extreme weather.

Yet again we see Labour politicians playing politics with a very serious issue which affects us all.

During what has been the worst freeze in over 25 years, West Dunbartonshire Council has managed to keep our priority main roads and priority walking routes gritted. Working around the clock, our roads and grounds maintenance staff have pulled out all the stops and, unlike neighbouring Glasgow and East Dunbartonshire, our teams succeeded in keeping West Dunbartonshire moving and deserve our fullest praise.

LABOUR'S cold weather payments leave some of our most vulnerable groups out in the cold.

The SNP has called on the Westminster Government to take action to increase the cold weather payments and extend them to other very vulnerable groups in our communities.

During the current extremely cold weather only those on pension credit and certain low income groups get the payment with many others, including those with severe health problems, missing out.

The SNP recognises the need to tackle fuel poverty across all of our vulnerable groups and urges the Labour Government to take action and help all Scots who are suffering from fuel poverty.

IN a previous column, I urged the Scottish Labour Party to re-think its position on the minimum price for alcohol as part of a plan to tackle the consequences of alcohol abuse in our communities.

Since then, doctors, health professionals and now, the cross-party House of Commons Select Committee have urged the adoption of minimum pricing.

Surely it is time for Labour MSP Jackie Baillie and her party to get behind a policy that should surely help address the alcohol problem which blights our communities.