Action group formed to safeguard Llan health services

AN action group has been formed to safeguard health services in Llangollen.

Its aim is to halt controversial proposals by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board which include closing the town's Cottage Hospital and replacing it with a new primary care health centre on another site in the town.

Members of the new Keep Llangollen Health Services  (KLHS) group – formed at a public meeting at The Hand Hotel on Thursday night – are deeply worried the new facility will take years to complete and will not include the in-patient beds or minor injuries unit currently offered by the hospital on Abbey Road.

The community hospital, which the health board says is outdated and in need of replacement, also provides a range of vital health services, such blood testing, and campaigners are concerned about whether these will continue to be provided locally during an expected gap of two or three years between it closing and a new centre opening.

Thursday’s meeting was called by Mabon Ap Gwynfor from Corwen, whose residents will also be hit by the closure of the hospital, he claims.

Mr Ap Gwynfor is on the staff of North Wales Plaid Cyrmu Assembly Member Llyr Gruffydd but he stressed his involvement in the campaign was on a personal level and was not connected to his work with the political party.

Residents opposed to the hospital closure plan called a public meeting at The Hand Hotel in August at which a local referendum on the proposal was demanded.

Last Wednesday, health board officials held three public consultation sessions in Llangollen Town Hall at which residents were briefed on the full range of health service changes planned for the region.

But Mr Ap Gwnfor said: “We don’t think all the questions we have about the proposals for change were answered at the sessions, which were more of a tick-box exercise.

“At the Hand public meeting there was a strong feeling that something ought to be done to oppose the hospital closure and retain existing services locally.

“What we have now decided on is to mount a focused and targeted campaign against it but we have only a short time to do this as the health board’s consultation exercise on the changes will finish at the end of October.”

Action plan agreed by the new group includes a demonstration at the next health board meeting, seeking the backing of politicians and other decision-makers, a leafleting campaign inviting affected residents to write in to the health board with their own objections and the setting up of a dedicated website to act as a focal point for the battle

KLHS will also liaise with other groups opposing health service changes, such as the one in Flint which recently organised a march through the streets of the town by 1,500 people fighting the closure of their own community hospital.

A further public meeting to co-ordinate the new campaign is being planned in Llangollen in the next few weeks. 

The group is also collecting personal accounts from local people about how important the Cottage Hospital has been in their lives over the years. 

Event highlights town's rich railway past

* Volunteers Paul Lawton and David George sprucing up the front pavement on London Road ready for the grand opening of the exhibition on Friday.

 

An exhibition promoting interest in the Corwen’s railway past and Llangollen Railway’s plans for the railway extension project opens at the Oriel Gallery, London Road, Corwen at 10am today (Friday, September 28).

The exhibition features railway photographs and documents, together with items of former railway artefacts from the local lines around Corwen.

 

A digital slide show of some 200 historical local railway images is also presented.  

Another feature is a display about the new build Patriot class locomotive “The Unknown Warrior”, as currently being erected at the Llangollen Railway’s engineering base. 

The exhibition is organised by local author Paul Lawton and Martin Christie from Carrog station. 

Paul Lawton, one of the organisers, said: "This will be the biggest railway display so far held in Corwen with many items that will interest all residents, not just railway enthusiasts. 

 

"We all hope it keeps interest alive in Corwen's future link with the Llangollen Railway, which is so important to the town. 

 

"The team who have pulled this together have put in a lot of effort and we hope everyone enjoys the exhibition. We really hope that people from the town will come along and share with us their memories of the railway." 

Norman Jones, of the Edeyrnion Heritage and Cultural Society, said: "I am delighted that Denbighshire County Council had agreed to allow The Corwen Oriel to be used for the Railway and Art exhibitions.

 

"I am looking forward to other exhibitions in the future, including one proposed on the farming heritage of the Dee Valley."

Opening dates for the exhibition are September 28 – 30 and October 4 – 7, between 10am and 4pm. Admission is free.

 

The Oriel Gallery is in the red brick former chapel opposite the black and white Corwen Manor on London Road at the eastern end of the town. Car parking is available on the road or around the back in the town car park.

 

The event is supported by Cadwyn Clwyd - Rural Development Agency, Denbighshire Rural Development Plan Partnership, The European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development, Welsh Government.

Survey shows state of the Welsh nation

People in Wales are extremely satisfied with GP surgeries, hospitals and schools but remain concerned about the financial situation, the National Survey for Wales reveals.

The survey collects robust, detailed information on the views and experiences of people across Wales, on a wide range of topics including wellbeing and satisfaction with public services.

The survey, which began in January 2012, involves face to face interviews with around 14,500 people a year.

This first set of results is based on interviews with 3,500 people aged over 16 and over.

The survey reveals people’s views – where nought is ‘extremely bad’ and ten is ‘extremely good’ – on the transport, health, and education systems.
The overall rating for health was 6.5, education 6.5 and transport 6.1.
People were also asked to rate their satisfaction with how the Welsh Government is doing its job, and the average rating given was 5.8. People under 25 were more satisfied with the Welsh Government, with an average score of 6.3, while people over 25 gave an average score of 5.7.
When asked about their ability to pay bills and other financial commitments, 48 per cent of people said they could keep up, a fall of seven percentage points from 2009-10.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: "It is important that we collect the views of the people of Wales, not only as a measure of how well we are delivering for people but also to get an insight into people’s concerns about topics like the services they receive and their local environment.
“It is pleasing that the results show people are extremely satisfied with services delivered by GPs and schools.
“We are committed to making sure our decisions and actions take into account the views of people across Wales. Only by engaging with people can we get a true reflection of people’s satisfaction levels. Only by listening to the people of Wales in this open and robust way can we address areas where people express more concern.”
Some of the results, which are published online on the Welsh Government website, show that in health 92 per cent of people were satisfied with the care they received from their GP or family doctor at their last visit.
The same proportion were satisfied with the care they received at their last appointment at an NHS hospital. Overall, 69 per cent found it easy to get a convenient appointment with their GP or family doctor.
On the topic of schools, 91 per cent of parents were satisfied with their child’s primary school and 88 per cent were satisfied with their child’s secondary school.
A total of 57 per cent of people said that their local authority provides high quality services and 44 per cent said they would like to be more involved in the decisions the local authority makes that affect their local area.
In terms of wellbeing, 73 per cent of people agreed that people in their local area treated each other with respect and consideration; a similar proportion agreed that “people in this neighbourhood are willing to help their neighbours”.
“Satisfaction with financial situation” was given a low or very low rating by 40 per cent of people. Young adults aged 16 to 24 were more likely to give a low or very low rating (52 per cent) compared with those aged 65 and over (23 per cent).
And in an increasingly digital world 70 per cent of households had access to the internet. This means that 77 per cent of people aged 18 or over had access to the internet. Four out of 10 households in the most deprived areas in Wales did not have access to the internet.

Second body found in river at Erddig

North Wales Police have now confirmed that two bodies were found in the River Clywedog at Erddig, Wrexham last night.

In a statement they say: "The body of a 27 year old woman was found at just after 5pm and the body of 25 year old man was discovered around midnight after a major search involving the Fire and Rescue Service and Mountain Rescue.

"Both are believed to be from the Wrexham area.

"The deaths are not being treated as suspicious.

"However, the circumstances surrounding the incident are still being investigated.

"The coroner has been informed and a post mortem is to be carried out."

Public briefed on big health shake-up

llanblogger special report

There will definitely be no in-patient beds or minor injuries unit in the new primary care centre proposed to replace Llangollen Cottage Hospital.

And the planned new centre would not be open before the hospital is closed.

However, every effort would be made to provide services lost from the hospital in the local area.

These were the main messages which came from health chiefs at Wednesday evening’s public briefing at Llangollen Town Hall on proposed service changes across the region.

The 6pm gathering was the last of three sessions held at the same venue during the day and attracted just over 20 local people.

* Geoff Lang.

Soundings taken at these and similar meetings across the region will be taken into consideration before the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which is proposing the changes, makes up its mind on what exactly will happen, possibly in December.

Seven key members of the board were on the panel.

Director of primary, community and mental health Geoff Lang outlined plans to close the Cottage Hospital and replace it with a new “extended primary care centre”.

From the new facility, he said, social services, the voluntary sector and mental health staff could work closer with resident the resident team of professionals.

While there are currently 10 in-patient beds at the hospital, Mr Lang was clear there would be none in the new centre, with localised in-patient services being provided instead at Chirk Hospital or, for the elderly, in private care homes where these were closer to their homes.

Mr Lang added it was not proposed to provide a minor injuries unit in the new centre, either.

However, he explained that conversations had been taking place with local GPs on whether they might be able to provide minor injuries services in the future.

Questioned from the floor of the meeting on whether phlebotomy (blood) services would be available in the new unit, he said “yes, absolutely”.

A number of points were raised by local county councillor Stuart Davies who said the general view in Llangollen was that the Cottage Hospital was very old and that a new facility to replace it would be welcomed.

He said there were difficulties with the site earmarked for the new centre, currently occupied by the derelict River Lodge  hotel, which were mainly traffic related as it bordered the main A539 road.

Cllr Davies said it had been suggested a bridge could be built over the river to link the site with the town. 

He added local people would like to see at least four in-patient beds in the new centre but conceded that health professionals had said this was not going to happen.

Mr Lang came back to make it clear that “everything, but not the beds, that goes on at Llangollen Hospital will be provided in a primary care centre”.

Cllr Davies then raised the issue of how the proposed changes would be timed, pointing out: “We don’t want to see the hospital closed before a new centre opens”.

The same point was made by town mayor, John Haddy, who added that if there was a two or three year gap between the two and patients became used to having to travel to receive these services elsewhere, this might take pressure off the health board to provide a new health centre in the town.

Mr Lang replied: “Timing is very important. Enhanced care (for the elderly in their own homes) will come on line at the same time or before we close the hospital beds.

“As for the other services, we are looking at ways of keeping these in Llangollen before the primary care centre is provided.”

He suggested that these services might be provided at the existing Llangollen health centre.

Mr Lang added: “We recognise the fears and concerns that if these services go out of the area we might never bring them back.”

He said that across the south Wrexham health area – of which Llangollen is part – about £550,000 would be provided – mainly to cover the cost of extra staff – for enhanced care provision.

Martin Crumpton, who has been active in the campaign to save the Cottage Hospital and was the organiser of a recent move to hold a local referendum on the issue, asked for a straight answer on the timing of the changes in Llangollen, given that building a new primary care centre could take three years.

He also pointed out that the provision of a suitable site for the new facility would be subject to the planning system.

The board’s director of planning Neil Bradshaw (pictured right) said it was guaranteed that alternative services would be in place when the hospital closed.

He added that the Woodlands hotel was the preferred site but that if this could not go ahead the board would have to find another way of delivering its objective.

However, he admitted that Llangollen was a “really challenging area” when it came to finding a suitable site

And he conceded: “We will not have provided the new primary care centre         before the hospital is closed.”

From the floor of the meeting the point was made that there was no evidence the 10 beds at the Cottage Hospital were not needed.

The speaker, a local resident, said that, in fact, as soon as one of the beds became empty there was a queue to fill it.

This won applause from the audience.

The meeting, which was presided over by independent chairman Meirion Hughes, closed after just over 90 minutes.

* A public meeting will be held tonight (Thursday) at The Hand Hotel, starting at 7pm.

It has been called by North Wales Plaid Cyrmu Assembly member Llyr Guffydd in an attempt to persuade local people to orgaise a structured campaign against the hospital closure, similar to the one which saw 1,500 people take part in march through the streets ast week to protest against the proposed closure of Flint Community Hospital.

Banners stolen from Llan pavilion

* Llangollen Pavilion from where the banners were stolen.

The organiser of a wedding fayre  at Llangollen Pavilion on Saturday (September 30) is asking the public to help track down the “lowlife” who stole three large banners advertising the event, which aims to raise cash for charity.

Graham Jones, who runs Wrexham Wedding Directory, told llanblogger:  “We supplied  the banners, two of which were 12ft by 3ft, at the Llangollen Pavilion event last week advertising our wedding fayre on the Saturday.

“This will have a giant charity raffle for Hope House Hospices.

“Now some lowlife  has stolen the banners.

“We are now in contact with Denbighshire Council and local police.

“Let’s hope they have been captured on CCTV … scum!”

Graham, who is based in Wrexham, added:  “The council are at a loss to what has happened as this have never happened before.

“The Pavilion confirmed yesterday that the banners were put up the strong cable ties and they have all been cut away to remove the banners.

“One banner was placed over 10ft off the ground, so someone needed a step ladder to remove it.

“Could you please ask your readers if they have seen anything. Ladders would have been needed to cut down the banner over the walkway.

“They were in place last Friday evening, but not there this morning (Tuesday).
A spokesperson for Denbighshire County Council, which runs the pavilion, said: "We are aware of the thefts and the police are involved." 
 

·         Graham Jones can be contacted on 01691 773587 or via his website at www.wrexhamweddingdirectory.co.uk

 

 

 

Woman's body found in river near Erddig, reports BBC

The BBC and other local media are reporting today that police are investigating the "unexplained" death of a 27-year-old woman whose body was found in a Wrexham river.

According to the BBC news website for North East Wales, the alarm was raised shortly after 5pm on Wednesday by a member of the public, who found the woman on a sand bank in the River Clywedog.

The report adds: “North Wales Police said the body was discovered near Felin Puleston, close to the entrance of Erddig Park.

“People with information are asked to contact police on 101.

“North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the ambulance service also attended the scene.

“Police said the local coroner had been informed of the death.”