| Ms Sturgeon made the claim during a Holyrood debate, prompted by city Nationalist MSP Joe FitzPatrick, who asked whether the cost of buying out the Private Finance Initiative contract at Ninewells “could be up to £30m”.
The debate followed the announcement that parking charges are to be lifted at hospitals across Scotland from next year, with the exception of Ninewells and Edinburgh and Glasgow Royal Infirmaries, where car parking is operated by private companies.
The figures touted by the SNP administration are at odds with those given by NHS Tayside’s Gerry Marr, who stated in April a buy-out at Ninewells would cost “in the region of £10m”.
In claiming the “tens of millions” figure, Ms Sturgeon said the sum “underlined the scandal” of Labour’s PFI policy and that patients were “suffering the legacy of Labour’s obsession with privatising the NHS”.
Ms Glen said, “If NHS Tayside has estimated a cost of around £10m in April for the buy-out, why has Ms Sturgeon never publicly queried this cost since then? Why the sudden appearance from her of a new, higher, less precise figure?”
In response to the SNP claim, Ms Glen has submitted 30 questions to the Health Secretary asking for details of who in the Government ordered the calculation of a new estimate. She is also asking for details of the figures used, for the method of calculation to be made public, and whether the Scottish Government ever contacted NHS Tayside for information to calculate the new estimate.
Ms Glen added, “Whatever the reasons for the unexpected emergence of a higher, vague estimate of the buy-out, the petition to remove the charges continues to attract signatures in the streets and online.” |
