Dear
Llanblogger,
I read
your article entitled “Town Council works out response to health shake-up” and
I write in response to set the record straight.
I and
other campaigners found out about Betsi Cadwaladr’s intentions at the beginning
of August, as did everyone. Being somewhat seasoned campaigners, we knew that
we had to begin our work immediately, even before the ten-week consultation
period had begun, on September 20th.
We were
not alone in knowing we had to use every day available to us: so did Conwy,
Prestatyn, Ruthin, Flint, Mold, Chirk, and many others in the same boat as us.
The common thread of all these campaigns is they were either wholly supported
by their town councils or actually led by them.
A
number of us asked the Town Council for a public meeting. They could have done
this themselves, without us prompting them. Instead they advised
against it, so we had to organise our own public meeting, and even call for a
local referendum.
The
Town Council claimed they didn’t yet have enough
information to give a response, yet as of their last Town Council meeting, 16th
October, neither they nor we know anything materially different from what we
knew in early August.
They promised to give their reaction at the next convenient Town Council meeting, but at that meeting they decided to attend the consultation instead, to find out more detail. As before, they’re no wiser now than they were at the beginning of August.
They promised to give their reaction at the next convenient Town Council meeting, but at that meeting they decided to attend the consultation instead, to find out more detail. As before, they’re no wiser now than they were at the beginning of August.
We, the
campaigners, on the other hand, have lobbied the Press and got several front
page stories, had our message broadcast on BBC Radio Cymru and the BBC News
website, gained the support of Mark Isherwood AM, Aled Roberts AM, and Llyr
Gruffydd AM, and now Ken Skates has come on board with our message that we need
to retain the hospital until its proposed replacement is up and running. We
have written to the Health Minister, Mary Burrows, the Health Council, spread
the word on Facebook and Twitter, organised a number of petitions and
communicated our news far and wide in the community.
The
Town Council, by comparison, has done nothing until twelve days before the end
of the consultation period, and hasn’t even agreed the wording of their
“response”. That’s to be finalised by the Town Clerk, apparently.
Perhaps this shows how high a priority the issue is with the Town Council, but we note the remarks by Cllr Mike Pugh and Cllr Tony Baker which fly in the face of the Mayor’s and the Town Clerk’s assertions of being “proactive” and “thoughtful and diligent”.
Perhaps this shows how high a priority the issue is with the Town Council, but we note the remarks by Cllr Mike Pugh and Cllr Tony Baker which fly in the face of the Mayor’s and the Town Clerk’s assertions of being “proactive” and “thoughtful and diligent”.
We could have joined
forces and been far more effective, but the Town Council did not engage with
us, and made no effort whatsoever to galvanise the town’s residents.
There
will be a deciding vote [on the health service changes] in The Senedd in
December. Perhaps the Town Council would like to become proactive, thoughtful
and diligent in the little time we have left and engage with the people it
purports to represent.
It could do no worse than look to other town councils in Conwy, Prestatyn, Ruthin, Flint, Mold, Chirk, and many others in the same boat as us and take their lead from them, instead of being the odd one out.
It could do no worse than look to other town councils in Conwy, Prestatyn, Ruthin, Flint, Mold, Chirk, and many others in the same boat as us and take their lead from them, instead of being the odd one out.
Martin
Crumpton
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