A TORY MSP has come under fire on social media after sending her constituents a survey form asking whether they were satisfied with the service from local hospitals and the NHS.
Having booked a delivery slot with the Royal Mail weeks ago, Rachael Hamilton, the Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire, circulated her parliamentary report 2019-2020 to voters last week, just as the NHS began to come under maximum pressure from coronavirus.
The survey asked: “Are you satisfied with the service from local hospitals and the NHS?” and “Are you satisfied with current GP provision in your area?”
Respondents were also asked to give satisfaction ratings about local schools and whether the budget supplied to Police Scotland by the Scottish Government is adequate.
Paid for by the Scottish Parliament, the report states: “The personal data provided in this survey is to inform my parliamentary work and will not be shared with third parties including campaign or political organisations.”
According to Scottish Borders blogger “notjustsheepandrugby”, the “circulation of Hamilton’s survey via Royal Mail at such a sensitive time appears to have sparked fury”.
Jim Ramage asked in a Facebook post: “Is it just me or do others find the recently delivered survey from Rachael Hamilton: a) a piece of opportunistic nonsense; b) a waste of money; c) glibly endangering of our postie.
“Surely questions need to be asked regarding this piece of political theatre, at a time when we are supposed to be working together for the greater good.”
According to another of the posts on social media: “Poorly timed, looking for a stick to beat the Government with, putting a strain on the postal service, putting postal workers further at risk.”
Another contributor wrote: “Talk about inappropriate timing! To be honest I think the answers she gets will convey that!” while another poster claimed: “Fishing for moans. Not helpful at all just now.”
Gail Henry, former SNP candidate for Ettrick, Roxburgh & Berwickshire, who stood against Hamilton in a 2017 by-election, explained in her Facebook post: “She will have booked her slot long before the lockdown as it takes many, many weeks to get these things ready. But you do think her staff should have postponed once we all saw what was coming.”
Rachael Hamilton told The National: “As you will be aware every elected member of the Scottish Parliament is required to produce a parliamentary report before the end of the financial year. It takes around eight weeks to apply for Royal Mail slots and to receive parliamentary approval.
“Constituents are taking a picture of the survey and emailing it back to me. As always, the survey results will be posted on my website.”
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