By Bill Heaney
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP, pictured right, has today accused the SNP Government of “waiting for catastrophe to strike” with dangerous concrete in public buildings.
This follows a report in the Sun newspaper that government ministers have no plans to remove RAAC in as many as 35 NHS buildings.
The Sun revealed that the Scottish Government plans to take no action to remove RAAC in 35 NHS public buildings.
The decision was revealed in a letter by the then Health Secretary, Michael Matheson, to MSPs about the discovery of the dangerous concrete.
A response to a parliamentary question submitted by Mr Cole-Hamilton has also found that the Scottish Government has no deadline or target for removing RAAC in NHS buildings.
This contrasts with the situation in England, which currently has a target to eradicate the dangerous building material from the NHS estate by 2035.
Mr Cole-Hamilton said: “It looks like SNP ministers are waiting for catastrophe to strike. Surgical wards, a radiotherapy ward, maternity wards and major hospitals were all investigated for suspected RAAC. The public have still not been given a definitive list of where this dangerous concrete is present.
“The government is happy to sit on its hands. This is a slow-footed and short-sighted response that puts patients and staff at risk and increases the chances of this dodgy concrete being in the NHS estate for many decades.
“Ministers need to get their heads out of the clouds and finally establish a fund that NHS boards and local authorities can tap into, allowing them to carry out the necessary works to get rid of this dodgy concrete for good.”
Top picture: The dodgy concrete is said to resemble a bar of Aero chocolate with air bubbles running through it.
You can find the exclusive in the Sun here
What folks need to get their heads around is a crumbling Britain.
Crumbling roads, crumbling public buildings, crumbling NHS where waiting lists soar, crumbling council services with councils on the brink of bankruptcy, and all backed up cancelled investment.
Cole Hamilton really wants to shut his hole with these cheap shot political cat calls.
The country is in the grip of a neo liberal economy that squeezes the absolute life out of the country.
Electricity and gas bills perchance as the corporates clean up. Or drugs from big pharma. Or even services to the NHS. I mean what government would give a, £197 million contract to Michelle Mone for her to male £100m on the, suplly of plastic splash gown and other such PPE. And she is only the bottom of the pile ergo Post Office Fujistsu computer system or all of the private corporates now running government
Suck it up Coke Hamilton it’s you and parties like yours that have facilitated this mass impovershment.
But yes, big important elected mouth ya ya boo RAAC