Mike Edwards speaks out on health shake-up plans

Mike Edwards, chair of Keep Llangollen Special, (pictured below) has made the following statement about the briefing meeting he attended last Wednesday by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board at Llan Town Hall about its proposals to shake up health services across region.

These include the closure of Llan Cottage Hospital and its replacement with a new primary health care centre.

He said: "I attended the consultation meeting yesterday at the Town Hall along with our Vice Chair, Phil Jones and our Secretary Jude Williams. Martin Crumpton and Councillor Phil Thane attended a later meetings and will report separately.

The meeting was very well controlled and time limited by BCUHB who as one would expect had many bodies present! There were many clever words and phrases used by the officials who used a great deal of techno health speak and gave very little specific information about their proposals. However what is crystal clear as far as Llangollen is concerned is that the existing Community Hospital will close and a proposed Multi function Health Centre will be provided in 2015 SUBJECT to the Health Board securing funding and Welsh Government approving a business case for the acquisition of the former River Lodge(Woodlands Hotel) site. In the intervening period services will be transferred to the existing GP Health Centre, but these proposals are under discussion with the GP Practice because of limited space at the Regent Street premises.

There is grave concern among residents that the Hospital will close in early 2013 which has been confirmed by a letter from Mary Burrows Chief Executive of the Health Board to our AM and that the proposed new Health Facility will never actually appear. It is clear that BCUHB intend to sell the existing Hospital along with Oakleigh higher up Abbey Road to produce much needed funds.

What is not clear is whether these monies will be retained in Llangollen for future health service investment. Arthur Hardy Chair of the Hospital League of Friends expressed concern that money his organisation at invested in the hospital would also be lost.

In the meantime patients and their family support network will have to travel to Chirk and Wrexham to receive treatment since in future their will be no in-patient beds in Llangollen.

Residents can make their views known to the Health Board in forms which were handed out at the meeting or they can write to Mary Burrows Ysbyty Gwynedd, Penrhosgarnedd, Bangor, Gwynedd, LL57 2PW or email Mary.burrows@wales.nhs.uk"

Top children's author at Llan Library

Popular children’s authors are visiting libraries in Denbighshire to meet their young readers, as part of the annual Children’s Book Week celebrations.

This year the visiting authors are Helena Pielichaty, Nicola Davies, Guy Bass, and Tracey Corderoy.

Bethan Hughes of Denbighshire Libraries said: “Giving children the opportunity to meet an author is a very effective way of encouraging children to read more books and to visit the library regularly. The experience stays with them for a long time. They get a chance to ask the author questions about their books and about what it’s like to be a professional author.

“Children’s Book Week is a focal point of our work with schools to promote reading for pleasure and develop children’s literacy skills, and we are delighted that we have been able to attract such fantastic authors to Denbighshire.”

The week is organised by Denbighshire Libraries and supported by Literature Wales.

Helena Pielichaty will will be at Llangollen Library on Tuesday, October 2.

From 9-10.15am she will meet Ysgol Bryn Collen Year 4-5 (including the Chatterbooks groups) and from 10.45-11.45 it will be Ysgol Gwernant Year 5-6.

www.helena-pielichaty.com

Open doors event was a hit with visitors

* The Old Lock Up was one of the buildings open in Llangollen. 

Around 1,300 people took advantage of special weekends of events aimed at opening the doors of historic properties in Denbighshire during September.

A total of 43 properties opened their doors to the public in Llangollen, Denbigh, Ruthin, St Asaph, Bodelwyddan and Rhuddlan as part of Open Doors Denbighshire– with people taking part in 45 guided tours and events.

Properties opeb in Llangollen included the Chain Bridge, Valle Crucis Abbey, Plas Newydd, Y Capel, Castell Dinas Bran and local churches.

Helen Calder, Event Co-ordinator for Denbighshire, said: “We would like to thank everyone involved in this year’s Open Doors events that took place throughout September. We would particularly like to thank the leaders of the guided walks and tours and the owners of private homes that opened their doors to the public.

“All of the guided tours were fully booked and all events were well populated. We have received some very positive feedback from members of the public and the feedback forms are still pouring in.

“We are very proud that the event is seen as one of the best in Wales and one that the Civic Trust for Wales would like to see repeated throughout Wales”.

The committee includes members and volunteers from:Llangollen Civic Society, Denbigh and District Civic Society, Ruthin and District Civic Association, with funding and support from Denbighshire County Council, Cadwyn Clwyd, Ruthin, Denbigh and Llangollen Town Councils.

Open Doors Denbighshire also received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development.

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."