A GREENOCK-born MSP has hit out at the brazen fly-tippers using Inverclyde as a dumping ground for their rubbish. The Tele has recently highlighted a series of episodes and Conservative Jamie Greene has branded them a ‘disgraceful blight’ on the local area. The latest incident saw land near new £20m Greenock Health Centre littered with cookers, bed frames and pallets. Mr Greene says fly-tipping is taking money away from other council services and is a serious health and safety concern. In 2020, Inverclyde Council issued 47 fines for fly-tipping - but there were many more cases where fly-tippers escaped penalties and council workers were left to clean up the mess.
PATIENTS in need of urgent mental health support are now being sent to other hospitals instead of Inverclyde s A&E. NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde have set up new mental health assessment units as part of their wider response to emergency care during the pandemic. Those presenting with a crisis or in distress are now assessed in the specialist units, as opposed to going to the local accident and emergency. Details of the shift were contained in a report which was requested by the local health and social care committee in response to the widespread public concern over recent changes to intensive care at IRH.
A SENIOR politician has hit back at claims that the Scottish Government isn t doing enough to address Inverclyde s low life expectancy figures. The SNP s Stuart McMillan has challenged Conservative rival Jamie Greene s assertion that no clear plan has been set out for how to lift the average figure for both men and women. Mr Greene has highlighted data released by National Records of Scotland which reveals that the average life expectancy in Inverclyde is 75.2 years for men and 76.6 years for women. He claims some areas of Greenock are still as deprived as they were 30 years ago and says decades of devolution have not addressed this problem.