SNP Call For Hospital Sprinklers Re-Think

SNP Councillors will seek to win the support of the current Labour / Tory coalition running Falkirk Council for the Fire Brigade Union led campaign to have a sprinkler system installed at the new acute hospital at Larbert.

Nationalists believe that the omission of a sprinkler system is one of the cuts designed to meet the added cost of the controversial Private Finance Initiative (PFI) method of funding the new hospital. The Falkirk Herald revealed last week that the annual cost of the new hospital to rent under the PFI scheme is £33m.

Earlier this year SNP Group Leader on Falkirk Council, David Alexander, resigned in protest at the decision predicting that the quality of healthcare would be hit due to the need to ensure that the developers made sufficient profit from the construction and management of the hospital.

Now Central Scotland Fire Board Convenor, Cllr Lynda Kenna has tabled a notice of motion for the next meeting urging NHS Forth Valley to think again over the exclusion of a sprinkler system.

Mrs Kenna said,

"Every one of the six new schools currently under construction in Falkirk district from the previous SNP/Independent Administration's building programme will be fitted with a sprinkler system.

The reason for this is that sprinklers not only protect property they save lives and are an essential part of modern building design.

Other relatively new hospitals have a sprinkler system installed which answers the claim that with so much electrical equipment a sprinkler system could be counter productive.

The fact is that modern sprinkler systems are only activated at the exact location of the fire.

I can understand that Labour Councillors may not wish to be seen questioning PFI given that they have promoted this Tory policy more that the Tories. However, I hope that Falkirk Council will support this motion unanimously and therefore not only support the position of the frontline Fire Fighters through the FBU campaign but also position on sprinklers adopted by the National Association of Fire Masters."