Minister gets back to llanblogger about health centre services

* Could Llangollen Health Centre one day include additional services?

llanblogger has had a response to the question it posed to Wales's new health minister about the future use of Llangollen Health Centre.

But it's a little soon to get our hopes up about any addition to its services because the email we received is a standard reply from his press team.

Last week we noted that Mabon Ap Gwynfor, the man who spearheaded the campaign to save Llangollen's much-loved Cottage Hospital over a decade ago, had just become Wales's new health minister following the Senedd election which saw the return of a Plaid Cymru government.

Back in September 2012 and then a Plaid activist, he called a public meeting at the Hand Hotel to form an action group to safeguard health services in Llangollen and halt controversial proposals by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board which included closing the Cottage Hospital and replacing it with a new primary care health centre elsewhere in the town.

The action group formed at that time, known as Keep Llangollen Health Services (KLHS), campaigned hard to save the hospital but it closed and was demolished a couple of years later to be replaced by the £5 million health centre we have now. 

At the time, some people recollect suggestions that the new centre would include in-patient beds and possibly a minor injuries unit, both of which had been provided at the Cottage Hospital. 

But, to date, no in-patient beds or minor injuries unit have been provided although there are often demands from the public for these to be included in the replacement building.

Mabon Ap Gwynfor, who went on to become a Denbighshire county councillor then a Senedd Member, is now one of the most important figures in the newly-formed Plaid Cymru government with 55% of the day-to-day Welsh budget being spent on the health service. 

After his appointment llanblogger said it would be interesting to have the new minister's views on whether Llangollen Health Centre could be further developed to provide the lost services. 

We therefore emailed him to ask but the response was not promising, although it must be remembered that he had been only days in office.

A spokesperson for the new Welsh Government said: “The First Minister has now appointed his Cabinet which he has said will have a relentless focus on doing what’s best for Wales. Each Minister will be setting out their priorities shortly.”

Maybe we'll ask him again once he's settled in.