Plaid Cymru’s new health spokeswoman, Helen Mary Jones AM
IN this my first column since being appointed as Plaid Cymru’s Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services, a brief which long time watchers of Welsh politics will know isn’t new to me, I’d like to reflect on some things that never seem to change.
Whilst much has changed in public life in Wales since I last held the health brief, some things have not.
One thing that has not is the simple fact that many in communities in the west do not have confidence in the Hywel Dda University Health Board, do not trust it to act in their interests, and do not believe that, when it consults on proposed service changes, it listens to them and responds to them.
I saw this for myself as the only Assembly Member who attended the recent protest in Haverfordwest against the proposed closure of the accident and emergency unit in Withybush Hospital.
Another thing that has not changed is the Welsh Government’s habit of distancing itself from proposed changes, even though the health boards are entirely accountable to Welsh Government and it is the Welsh Labour Government policy to centralise services, which inevitably penalises rural hospitals serving smaller populations.
Furthermore, what has also not changed is the rather unedifying spectacle of politicians elected in the name of the Labour Party persisting in campaigning, and sometimes leading campaigns, against the proposed service changes driven by their own government’s policies.
Faced with the current proposed changes for Hywel Dda, Plaid Cymru has sought to take a responsible approach.
No-one wants 20th century patterns of service provision in the 21st century. We have developed and presented alternative proposals following consultation with community members and professionals in the region.
Our alternative focuses on a robust plan for increasing the workforce and heavily investing in primary and social care.
We also know that, if essential consultant-led services are removed or relocated, and our preference is they are not unless absolutely necessary, it is crucial that effective risk assessments are undertaken and mitigation measures are put in place to ensure that the right patients get to the right place to be treated in the right settings, and these measures must be robust.
Unfortunately, we know this doesn’t always happen, and there are ombudsman reports that highlight this, including some tragic cases.
Plaid Cymru do not believe that the health board’s proposals will address how services will be improved in the short to medium term.
They make reference to the need to work more closely with the local authorities, but say nothing about how.
We are unconvinced that the proposed new super hospital would solve all the problems that the health board hopes that it might, and we are far from convinced, frankly, that it will ever be built. There is no history of Welsh Labour willing to commit such a large sum of money in west Wales, which is not electorally significant to them.