A Fife councillor has been branded a hypocrite after criticising the closure of the Queen Margaret Hospital hospice — a move supported by his Lib Dem colleague.
Dunfermline South councillor James Calder wrote in a leaflet to voters that he would fight the closure of services at the hospital.
But Scottish Labour pointed out Mr Calder’s Liberal Democrat colleague, Councillor Margaret Kennedy, joined the SNP and Conservatives in supporting the immediate closure of the service.
More than 2,000 signed a petition opposing a move to mothball the nine-bed palliative care ward, but NHS Fife said the proposal would allow more people to be cared for at home as they near the end of life.
Only Labour members of the Fife’s Health and Social Care Board opposed the move at a meeting on May 26.
The leaflet, delivered to local residents, says: “After the recent closure of the haematology unit at the Queen Margaret Hospital which delivered chemotherapy, as well as the threatened closure of the hospice, Councillor James Calder has been taking action to try and protect local healthcare provision.”
It quotes the councillor as “furious” about cuts to local health services.
Mr Calder adds: “I believe the Government need to intervene and perhaps the SNP MSP could voice local concerns.
“Enough is enough – I will keep fighting this. I am running a petition which you can sign.”
But a Dunfermline Labour source branded the leaflet hypocritical given Mr Calder’s party colleague supported the closure.
They said: “It is hypocritical for a Liberal Democrat councillor to claim they want to protect services at Queen Margaret when they cannot even convince their colleagues who choose to vote with the SNP and Tories to close the hospice service.
Fife councillor told to withdraw ‘misleading’ leaflet
“Mr Calder must immediately withdraw this leaflet and and apologise for misleading local people.”
Responding to the criticism, Mr Calder said his party had “consistently made the case” for more services at the hospital and called for the government to intervene.
He said: “This included last year when we helped put forward a motion to the Dunfermline Area Committee that would have raised this situation to the Scottish Government.
“Unfortunately most Labour councillors in Dunfermline voted against this, instead supporting the SNP to avoid causing embarrassment to the then Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf.”
Mr Calder added: “As councillors from other parties will well know, I am not allowed to lobby councillors who sit on the Health and Social Care Integrated Joint Board and and all councillors who sit on that board are able to take their own decision.
“We will not stop campaigning to bring more services back to the Queen Margaret and ultimately, if this is to happen, it will need intervention from the SNP Scottish Government which is consistently failing our NHS.
“Perhaps Labour in the future might support us rather than attacking us for campaigning on this issue.”
Graeme Downie, Scottish Labour Candidate for Dunfermline and Dollar, said: “If elected as the MP for Dunfermline and Dollar, I will campaign with local people to highlight the excellent work done by existing staff at Queen Margaret Hospital and to bring more services closer to the community as well.
