BMAHAG meeting with Jonathan Evans MEP 26/1/07
Representatives of the Black Mountains Area – Health Action Group (BMA-HAG) had the opportunity to discuss their concerns about local health care issues with Jonathan Evans, MEP.
Following on from his meeting with Chris Mann, Chairman of Powys Local Health Board, Jonathan Evans shared his concerns with the BMA-HAG representatives. He listened to the anxieties expressed on behalf of the local communities served by Bronllys Hospital, and helped to guide the thinking of how we may move forward. The meeting was considered by all present, to be a positive and productive opportunity.
The following statement was issued by Jonathan Evans, MEP, to outline the key issues that he had discussed with Chris Mann during their meeting.
STATEMENT BY JONATHAN EVANS MEP FOLLOWING MEETING WITH CHRIS MANN AND REPRESENTATIVES OF SAVE POWYS HOSPITALS
I met Chris Mann, Chairman of Powys Local Health Board today (26.1.2007) in order to express my deep concerns about the possible closure of Community Hospitals in Powys as part of a proposed reconfiguration of health services.
I know Chris very well from our political challenges when I was MP for Brecon & Radnor, and he was the Labour Party candidate and putting aside our party political differences I know that he fully appreciates the huge value which local people rightly place in the network of local community hospitals in Wales. I was therefore shocked to find that the Health Board might be considering such closures.
Chris Mann stressed to me that there were currently no specific closure proposals, but that a consultation would start in September on the reconfiguration of local health services, which would clearly impact on hospitals in Builth, Bronllys, Brecon and Knighton. Although Chris claimed that these plans were not finance-driven, the significant shift over the past decade in the balance of Health Service resources to the advantage of urban rather than rural areas in Wales has undoubtedly added significantly to the costs pressures on the Health Board.
I was assured that the Board's decision-making would be driven by clinical considerations, but I urged Chris to carefully consider the views of the clinicians best-placed to advise on the effectiveness of service-delivery – the local GPs, who clearly enjoyed the confidence of patients. I reminded him that during the two election campaigns we had fought against one another in the 1990s in Brecon & Radnor, we had always both held lengthy meetings with the local GP practices because of our shared recognition of their expert understanding of the special factors affecting the delivery of health services in this exceptional area. For a period of time I had lived with my family close to Builth Hospital and we therefore fully understood the value placed upon it by the people of Builth. My wife, who has spent her working life in the NHS has always spoken in the highest terms about the excellence of Builth hospital and its medical staff and League of Friends.
Chris Mann agreed to provide me with further detailed financial information about the Board's costing of the 850 inpatient cases, and 500 day cases currently undertaken out of county , which would be brought back to local hospitals under the anticipated proposals.
He also assured me that he remained open to further representations both before and during the consultation period.
I fully accept that Powys Health Board must aim to improve the delivery of local services in terms of homecare, children’s services and mental health services, but this should not be at the cost of a centralisation of health services to the marked disadvantage of large numbers of local patients. Our local community hospitals are not just valued by local residents. They were also visited by two serving Prime Ministers - Margaret Thatcher at Knighton and John Major at Brecon - who paid tribute to our local community hospitals for their excellence in service delivery.
ENDS