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Hospital campaigner walks out in protest over 'Labour gag'

A LEADING health campaigner has quit a protest group fighting to protect services at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, claiming Labour politicians are trying to stop concerns being aired in public.

Ernie Walker has resigned as chairman of the West Lothian NHS Campaign Group and vowed to set up a breakaway organisation.

The former NHS executive believes the future of St John’s is being undermined by the gradual withdrawal of services.

A leaflet he sent to fellow campaigners arguing the health board was downgrading services at St John’s “by stealth” has sparked a furious row. It prompted NHS Lothian chief executive James Barbour to write to MPs and MSPs describing the claims, which include accusations that management decisions about St John’s are taken in Edinburgh, as “inaccurate and misleading”.

Mr Walker is understood to have been lambasted by Labour Party members at a later campaign group meeting.

He said the meeting “degenerated into a slanging match between Labour Party politicians and the lay people present, including myself.”

Among those who attended the meeting were Labour politicians Jim Devine MP, Bristow Muldoon MSP and West Lothian council leader Graeme Morrice.

Mr Walker said today: “Having reflected about this turn of events, it is now apparent to me that the Labour group was seeking to prevent the dissemination of information into the public domain.”

He now intends to establish a new pressure group which he claims will be free from party political influence and will hold its first public meeting on Thursday.

At least 20 supporters of the existing campaign group are expected to follow Mr Walker, who was chief executive of the Mayday University Hospitals Trust in Croydon before joining the private health sector as a management consultant.

The original campaign group was founded amid fears that St John’s Hospital would be downgraded after emergency surgery and trauma orthopaedic services were transferred to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Despite repeated strong denials from NHS Lothian, Mr Walker and his supporters believe services at the West Lothian hospital are being slowly undermined.

He said: “The campaign committee has seen evidence of a continued and progressive downgrading of hospital services.

“However, any attempt by lay people to broadcast this information is met by acrimony and dissent.

“The time to publicise health issues is in the run-up to the forthcoming Scottish Parliamentary election in May. Labour appear resolutely opposed to this.”

Labour councillor Morrice, who is also a member of the health board, strenuously denied claims the campaign group was acting on a Labour Party agenda and pointed to its cross-party support.

He said: “It’s sad and disappointing that an individual member of the campaign group has decided to set up his own personal campaign group.”

Mr Walker’s new group will hold its first public meeting at the Beefeater Travel Lodge at Deer Park in Livingston at 7.30pm on Thursday when its constitution and name will be decided.