SNP March Against Privatisation of the Falkirk Health Service

SNP members made up around half of the marchers at the recent protest march from Falkirk High School to Falkirk High Street.

They tried to ban the SNP but members were there in numbers to protest at the privatisation of the National Health Service in Falkirk. The march, organised by Labour Councillor, Dennis Goldie, was set up as a smokescreen to mask the effect of Labour policy on the Health Service and Mr Goldie was behind an attempt to prevent SNP members from taking part on the march and displaying banners with the no privatisation message.

Mr Goldie, self appointed chairman of the organisation Hospital Watch also made some astonishing blunders by claiming that there was no detailed planning application lodged with Falkirk Council for the new hospital at Larbert, no works had taken place at that site and Falkirk Royal Infirmary had been promised a full Accident & Emergency Unit in the 2004 consultation.

It was later confirmed that the planning application had been submitted some six weeks earlier, the site is being cleared at the moment ready for construction to commence early in 2007. It was also confirmed that Falkirk Royal has the facilities the Health Board agreed would be offered following the intervention of the Provost of Falkirk Council, Jim Johnston and his group made up of representatives of Falkirk's Community Councils.

Speaking to the web site Falkirk Council SNP leader said,

"It must have been hugely embarrassing for the Labour Party to listen to the depute leader of their group on Falkirk Council make a complete fool of himself at the Falkirk Steeple. To be so wrong is either incompetence of the highest order or a deliberate attempt to mislead the general public.

Our Health Service is being centralised because of the Labour / Liberal Executive's policies as contained in the Kerr Report.

Even more worrying is the attempt by New Labour to hide the fact they are selling off the NHS to the private profiteers. That is why Mr Goldie tried to ban the SNP from taking part in the march."