The Vale of Leven hospital has been the subject of much controversy over recent years. Until the management changes in 2006 it had been a good local hospital carrying out all the duties that could be expected of it. It was at that time the mainstay of the Argyll & Clyde Health board

In 2005, because of an adverse report, Argyll & Clyde board members resigned and, after consultation, in 2006 it was disbanded by the Labour and Liberal Democrat government of the time. Argyll & Bute, for some obscure reason was then included in NHS Highlands, based in Inverness and the remainder, including the Vale of Leven Hospital, went to Greater Glasgow Health Board (GGHB).

Health provision in Argyll & Bute became an unwanted appendage to NHS Highland and they set up a health and social care partnership to run it. This partnership was mandated to buy all health provision from GGHB. Glasgow is, of course, happy to take the business but its core area is in Glasgow and its environs.

The Vale of Leven Hospital, that GGHB inherited, is peripheral and it is clear that they would like to close it. The management board of GGHB contains many Labour party appointees based in and around Glasgow. Perhaps this will change now that Glasgow council has changed hands but I expect the focus will remain on the Glasgow hospitals and to a lesser extent the Golden Jubilee.

One of the first acts of the first SNP government was to consult and agree the “Vision for the Vale” with GGHB. That insists that the hospital will remain open and that services will be maintained. This is contained in the link library.nhsggc.org.uk/mediaAssets/VOLMG/volmg_letter_cabsec_to_chairman_vision_for_vale_response_2009-07-15.pdf

It is however the responsibility of the health board to run the hospitals, to recruit staff and to ensure maintenance is carried out. It is clear that GGHB are manifestly failing in this duty.

As it stands each post that becomes vacant in the Vale is given very little pull to find any replacement. I understand that anaesthetic cover was lost and not replaced. I heard recently that the head of haematology at the Vale was retiring and that no suitable replacement had been found. If you look at the building structures of the Vale it is clearly lacking in care; bits are falling off and not being replaced.

Each of these failures adds to the impending doom of the Vale. A large local surgery was recently built in its grounds and that appears to be a ready-made excuse to close the existing hospital and take the remaining expertise into Glasgow.

The failure of the Scottish Government is in not overriding this salami slicing regime that is heading inevitably toward closure. What is needed is a radical reorganisation of the health boards. Let Glasgow do its own thing and provide care for its own area but create another health board that has its main focus of interest in the lower Clyde and Argyll; a new health board to replace the old Argyll & Clyde board and give it its fair share of funding rather than allowing Glasgow to hoover it all up.

Dougie Blackwood,

Helensburgh

Alan Reid and the Lib Dems supporters have been clearly over-indulging in one of their wacky manifesto pledges if they think that they can beat the SNP in this seat. The Lib Dems got just over 3,500 votes across the whole of Argyll in the council election. Ruth Davidson's Conservatives nearly tripled that with 8,300 just behind the SNP who totalled 9,200. Clearly with a success like that, only the Conservatives can stop the SNP. Time for Lib Dems (and Labour supporters too) to take a deep breath of fresh air, and face up to the reality that they need to vote Tory this time to beat the nationalists with their single track obsession with independence.

Angus Young,

Helensburgh

With summer well and truly here and 10 June heralding the start of Bike Week, why not get on your bike and explore your local area?

Cycling is a great way to enjoy the warmer weather as well as an easy, fun and free way to get active with friends and family. It can also help reduce your risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart and circulatory disease.

The National Charity Partnership, a partnership between Diabetes UK, the British Heart Foundation (BHF) and Tesco, is helping you take small steps to better health by funding Beat the Street in your town. Beat the Street is a real-life walking and cycling game currently happening in North Lanarkshire, where players get rewarded with points for tapping ‘Beat Boxes’ located across the area. With only two weeks left of the game, cycling is a great way to cover some ground and rack up the points for yourself or your team. It can be easy to fit cycling around your lifestyle by swapping the car or public transport for your bike and it can make a real difference to your long-term health.

To find out more about Beat the Street in your area visit https://northlan.beatthestreet.me/northlan or to get some hints and tips on getting active outdoors, you can visit our website at https://lets-dothis.org.uk/tips

So grab a friend and a bike and get tapping this June!

Alex Davis,

Head of Prevention,

National Charity Partnership