Last week I blogged here on a Health motion that Cllr Elizabeth Evans and I proposed and seconded for a full meeting of Ceredigion County Council yesterday.
I'm pleased to report that the motion was passed unanimously by the entire Council.
We have called on the Health Minister in Cardiff Bay and the Hywel Dda Local Health Board Management Team to meet with us as a full Council to answer a series of questions regarding the service provision in Bronglais Hosptial but also the future capital spend plans for Cardigan Hospital, Tregaron Hospital and the future Cylch Caron project and the Aberaeron integrated healthcare centre.
Passions were high in the Council as members showed a relatively rare but important show of unified strength against the Hywel Dda Health Board in particular and their perceived lack of direct accountability and their stubborn unwillingness to attend public meetings to discuss their plans with elected Councillors and local communities at the same time. The public meeting in Tregaron last week is a case in point - a crowd of some 150 local residents met to discuss the sudden and unconsulted upon donwgrade of hospital beds there from 20 to 12 but where the local health board? They hid behind a pre-written statement that was read out at the meeting. Here in Cardigan, the same health board recently withdrew with just a week or two to spare from a public meeting with the Town Council and the Hospital's League of Friends about Cardigan Hospital. It does not engender confidence in their actions if they continue to avoid public scrutiny like this.
So we now await for a response from Hywel Dda and also from the Health Minister Lesley Griffiths. We are expectant and we will not take no for an answer.
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