Have a say on future of maternity services

AMONG the first visits I made when elected as North Wales Assembly Member back in 2011 was one to Dolgarrog with Plaid Cymru councillor Phil Edwards.

Back then the village was still struggling to come to terms with the loss of the works and a headline in the Weekly News dubbed it “the forgotten valley”.

Fortunately, a combination of a novel enterprise and hard work by the local council has seen the site opened as a fantastic new sporting centre - Surf Snowdonia. It was a privilege to attend the opening recently and see the transformation of the old works site into a cutting-edge surfing centre.

It’s the latest in a growing list of attractions across the North that are winning fans among local people and attracting year-round tourism to Wales. Seasonal work is not the way to build a sustainable economy so attractions that can employ people all year round are very welcome. To have such a pioneering centre, with the largest man-made wave machine in the world, is a feather in the cap for Conwy and Wales.

Another important piece of news that could easily get lost as people focus on their holidays and entertaining youngsters is the up and coming consultation by Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board about maternity services at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

The board had its fingers burned very badly in trying to force through the end of consultant-led services earlier this year and has now accepted it must consult with the people, who came out in force to show their support for retaining the service.

I have fought for a number of years now to improve our NHS in North Wales and hope that the health board finally take on board the views of the public, as well as heath professionals such as doctors, midwives and nurses, on this matter.

There are encouraging signs that the health board has finally started to proactively recruit in this specialist field, partly in preparation for the new Sub-Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Centre planned for Glan Clwyd. It makes no sense to close the doctor-led services temporarily in the meantime.

You can have your say on maternity services in the North before the end of September by writing to “Maternity Services in North Wales, FREEPOST RSZZ-SGXY-TSEZ, LL17 0JG” or mailing NWalesHaveYourSay@wales.nhs.uk