Business life continues for Stephanie Booth

llanblogger brings you the following story courtesy of the Leader

STEPHANIE Booth has no intention of calling time on her business career.
The colourful businesswoman and one-time prospective Wrexham FC owner (pictured right) has spoken of her delight at seeing all four of her hotels in the Llangollen Hotels chain sold, more than a year after that part of her business empire suddenly collapsed.
In a rare interview, Mrs Booth has also revealed the philosophical approach she adopts to life following the hotel group’s collapse.
Mrs Booth, 66, insists she is not contemplating retirement and is pursuing other business avenues.
“I’ve been overseas for a few weeks but I can’t say anything more than that,”she told the Leader.
“I really do not think we are ready to retire.
“It is my belief we should keep going, it is not in our nature to retire.”
In July 2011 Llangollen Hotels’ parent company Global Investment Group was placed into administration.
This led to four hotels in the Llangollen and Llandegla areas being put up for sale, with all having now been taken over and continuing to operate as hotels.
Mrs Booth, who ran the hotels with husband David, has expressed her pleasure at seeing her former colleagues stay in work.
“Although this doesn’t have any direct impact on me personally, I am pleased to see they have been sold,” she said.
“My concern is for the staff and I am just glad their futures all appear to have been secured.
“From what I have been told the people that work at the hotels seem to be happy and like the new owners. I am very glad to hear that.”
Reflecting on her time in the hotel trade, Mrs Booth said: “We were never remote bosses.
“The workers called us by our Christian names. They were both colleagues and our friends.
“We did hotels because we loved them, we had a really good run. I loved to see happy customers, it was really rewarding but hard work.
“What happened in the end was out of our hands.”
Mrs Booth has continually insisted the collapse of the hotel group was due to issues over settling a large tax bill.
She said the couple are now only involved in one hotel, The Anchor in Ruthin.
The Wynnstay Arms in Wrexham closed suddenly in July last year, leaving staff out of work and couples’ wedding day plans left in tatters, but it has since reopened.
The closure of The Wynnstay came just months after Mrs Booth emerged as a contender to buy Wrexham FC, with the club eventually being taken over by the Wrexham Supporters Trust.
Looking back on the events of 2011, Mrs Booth has a philosophical attitude.
“The world is a cruel place,” she said. “Nobody promised us it would be easy.
“I believe you cannot live life with regrets. I don’t hate anybody, I think that destroys you.
“I always recognise we live in a very privileged society in Britain.
“I’m always conscious I could have been born in a very poor country, but we are very privileged here.”

Town Council works out response to health shake-up

Town councillors worked out their official response to controversial plans to shake up health services in Llangollen at their meeting on Tuesday night.

Although the precise wording has yet to be worked out by the town clerk, this will be along the lines of a suggestion from the mayor, Cllr John Haddy, that there must be some certainty that if the Cottage Hospital closes as proposed, the services it currently provides will continue to be delivered locally until a planned new health centre is opened.

The closure of the hospital and its replacement with a new health facility, possibly on the site of the derelict River Lodge just up the road, is proposed by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) as part of a major programme of changes to services across the region.

The current public consultation exercise on the programme ends on October 28.

The plan has already sparked a backlash in Llangollen and led recently to calls for a local referendum to be held on the issue.

Last Monday evening at a public meeting hosted by newly-formed action group Keep Llangollen Health Services (KLHS) there were calls for a mass letter-writing campaign to oppose the loss of any local health facilities.

The Town Council has in the past come under fire for not playing a more active role in the issue.

As its official response to the consultation was being discussed on Tuesday evening, these criticisms were referred to by Cllr Mike Pugh.

Explaining that he had attended the KLHS public meeting, he said: “There was a feeling there that there should have been more input from the Town Council.

And Cllr Tony Baker said: “I have been asked by members of the public why the Town Council has not been more proactive.”

The mayor replied that there had been a group who called for a referendum under legislation that was not appropriate.

He added: “Although we advised that this was not the way forward they decided to go ahead anyway.

“There are two problems with that – first, it put us in a position where we could not support that and, second, the emphasis was on a referendum rather than the health board’s proposals.

“We were proactive but there are limits to the areas in which we can act.”

Town clerk J Gareth Thomas said: “We have been thoughtful and diligent in the way we have taken it forward.”

Concerns were voiced by a number of councillors about the possibility of a lengthy time gap between the hospital being closed and a new heath centre opening.

Cllr Robert Lube said: “I accept that it is not really economical to keep the hospital going and I like the idea of the new health centre but I am concerned about that gap.”

And Cllr Tim Palmer said: “We must express to the health board that while the investment is very welcome, we have to ensure that no services are lost.”

Summing up the response to BCUHB, the mayor said: “We need to make sure that services we already have are, as an interim measure, guaranteed.” 

Hillsborough survivor welcomes new probes

NEWS that police wrong-doing at Hillsborough will be the subject of two major investigations has been welcomed by a survivor of the tragedy.

Last week, 56-year-old Kelvin “Kelly” Davies (pictured right), who works as a machine operator at the Dobson & Crowther factory in Llangollen, gave his harrowing account to llanblogger of how he narrowly survived the human crush at the Sheffield Wednesday stadium, which claimed the lives of 96 fans in April, 1989.  

He told of how he watched a young boy die beside him but was himself plucked to safety by a friend and carried away from the body-strewn terraces by fellow Liverpool fans on an advertising hoarding torn from the side of the pitch.

It has now been announced that two separate probes are to be carried out into the disaster by  the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is the police watchdog body, and the Director of Public prosecutions.

They will both be looking at whether crimes were committed by the police.

The IPCC said both serving and former officers would be investigated over the deaths of the fans and they will consider if individuals or corporate bodies should be charged.

The Hillsborough Independent Panel last month revealed 164 police statements were altered - 116 of them to remove or change negative comments about the policing of the FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at the Sheffield stadium.

It said police and emergency services had made "strenuous attempts" to deflect the blame for the disaster on to fans.

The panel also found that 41 of the 96 who died had the "potential to survive" and calls have been made for fresh inquests.

Kelly Davies, who lives in Rhosymedre, said: “I welcome both these investigations.

“The report by the Hillsborough Independent Panel last month opened up a can of worms and these new inquiries which have been announced are unprecedented in British legal history.

“Now I want to see this taken one step further and the inquests into the disaster re-opened.

“This time there should be verdicts of corporate manslaughter rather than accidental death.”

Mr Davies, who stills sees images of the boy who died beside him in the crush of the terraces, added: “It is wrong that it has taken 23 years to get where we are today with this.

“For those of us who were there that day this has been hanging over our heads all that time.

“At the time The Sun newspaper said awful things about how Liverpool fans behaved and mud sticks.

“For years and years it has been as though we were to blame for the deaths of our 96 fans.”

Deputy chair of the IPCC Deborah Glass said "without a shadow of a doubt" it would be the biggest ever investigation carried out into police behaviour in the UK.

Both South Yorkshire Police, who dealt with the tragedy, and West Midlands Police, who investigated how South Yorkshire handled the disaster, will come under scrutiny.

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC,  said in a statement: “Having read and considered the report published by the Hillsborough Independent Panel on 12 September 2012 and liaised with the Home Office and Independent Police Complaints Commission, I have concluded that the Crown Prosecution Service should consider all the material now available in relation to the tragic events on 15 April 1989, including the material made available by the Independent Panel.

“The purpose of this exercise is to identify what the focus of any further criminal investigation should be in order for the CPS to determine whether there is now sufficient evidence to charge any individual or corporate body with any criminal offence. All potential offences that may have been committed and all potential defendants will be considered.

“In carrying out this exercise, the CPS will work closely with the Independent Police Complaints Commission.

“Through the Right Reverend James Jones, the Bishop of Liverpool, I have today communicated my decision to the bereaved families and their representatives and indicated that, in conjunction the IPCC, the CPS intends to keep them fully informed of developments and to take such views as they express into account.”

AM welcomes new young people's scheme

 

 * Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Children

and Social Services, with Ken Skates at

the launch of the scheme.

 

Clwyd South Assembly Member Ken Skates has welcomed the launch of a new Welsh Government scheme to help young people in care make a successful transition to adult life.

Back in January he proposed a Private Members Bill in the Assembly to ensure looked after children could stay with their current foster carer after the age of 18 should they wish to do so.

After receiving cross-party support in the Assembly, the Welsh Government agreed to work with the AM to bring forward its own scheme which it has launched for a 12-week consultation today.

It comes as the latest statistics on looked after children show the numbers of children in care has risen 6% in the last year and 24% in the last five years.

Mr Skates said: “I’m delighted that the Welsh Government takes seriously the issues facing care leavers and is launching this new scheme to support young people as they make the important transition from care to adult life.

“The challenges faced by any young person as they make the move into adult life are very great indeed, but for those in care it can be especially daunting. This new scheme, ‘When I Am Ready’, is designed to give young people approaching the end of care the same firm foundations to begin adult life as their peers.

“It’s designed to give them the chance to extend the period in which they remain in a supportive environment and stop some of our most fragile and most vulnerable young people from leaving the care system abruptly and setting up for a life on their own without the skills they need to thrive.

“Though children in care are a lot safer than they were a decade ago, many lack the educational qualifications, housing support and emotional help they need to flourish in adulthood straight away and struggle as a consequence. Families continue to give help and support to their own children well after the age of 18 and we as corporate parents need to be doing the same thing.

“There is no ‘silver bullet’ to the challenges of being in care, but‘When I Am Ready’ is designed to be a constructive system of support that can offer a chance for care leavers to make a success of their young lives.”

The proposed scheme“When I Am Ready” will offer eligible children the opportunity to stay with their foster carers beyond the age of 18. This recognises that not all young adults are ready to move to living on their own, especially if they are vulnerable or have complex health, learning or other needs.

This scheme would also allow young people to complete their education or training without surrendering the support network that they are used to.

A 12-week consultation on the scheme begins today (Tuesday, 9 October) and there will also be a young-persons version of the consultation so the Welsh Government can get the views of young people themselves in care.

Gwenda Thomas, Deputy Minister for Children and Social Services, said: “This is great news for young people in foster care. Many of these young people have already had disrupted lives and they may lack the stable support network needed to move on to independent living, yet this can happen when they are much younger than their peers.

“Councils will need to be creative and innovative in implementing the scheme in their areas and reflect this in their commission of placements for 18 to 21-year-old care leavers.

“This scheme is about offering young people choice and control over their placement and giving them support when they decide they are ready to move on.

“I’d like to thank Ken Skates AM for addressing this very important issue and for the work he has done consulting organisations and young people on what they would want from this scheme.”

Meeting pledges to fight for Llan health services

* Mabon Ap Gwynfor addresses the audience at the public meeting.

PEOPLE in Llangollen are not going to let their community hospital go without a fight.

That was the message which came from a packed public meeting at The Hand Hotel in the town last night (Monday).

Attended by around 60 people, it was called by the newly-formed action group opposing controversial plans by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) to close the Cottage Hospital and replace it with a new health centre, possibly on the site of the derelict River Lodge hotel just down the road.

People at the meeting took up the invitation from members of Keep Llangollen Health Services to write letters opposing the plans to the BCUHB and to patients’ watchdog body the Community Health Council.

A number put pen to paper at the meeting.

They also signed a protest petition which has been going around Llangollen for the past few weeks and currently contains over 1,000 local names.

KLHS member Maria Haines said there were a number of concerns about the board’s proposals and that it was essential local people expressed their opinions before the official public consultation ends on October 28.

She explained that while local people might want to see a new health centre provided, many were unhappy the board had already said it would not offer the same range of facilities as the Cottage Hospital, including care beds and a minor injuries unit.

There was also fears the board might not be able to attract the necessary finance to pay for the new centre and, even if it did, there could be a gap of two-three years between the hospital closing and the new centre being opened, she claimed.

She added there were further worries about who would pay for the enhanced community care for the elderly which the board says will replace care beds at the hospital.

Ms Haines said: “We need to ask the health board to look again at this and come up with more options.”

Another group member Mabon Ap Gwynfor branded the health board’s proposals as “a sham and faulty” and said they would end up costing more to implement than any savings they would achieve.

He added: “I would urge everyone to send in letters setting out their views about these proposals to the health board and the Community Health Council.

“They should know the strength of feeling there is in Llangollen.

“We are not going to let the hospital go without a fight.”

* The address to write to at the health board is: Mary Burrows, Chief Executive, Freepost RSZZ-SGXY-TSEZ, Bertsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Matthew House Unit 35, Llys Edmund Prys, St Asaph Business Park, St Asaph, LL17 0JA.

* Address of the Betsi Cadwaladr Community Health Council is: Cartrefle, Cefn Road, Wrexham, LL13 9NH.

Health chief happy about shake-up plans debate

A health chief says he is pleased with the “lively and robust” debate which has taken place so far on plans for a major shake-up of services in the region.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board is currently consulting on proposals for changes to healthcare services in North Wales.

These include a controversial proposal to shut down Llangollen Cottage Hospital and replace it with a new health centre in the town, which will be the subject of a public meeting at The Hand Hotel at 7pm tonight (Monday).

The consultation closes on October 28 and the health board says it is keen for as many people as possible to share their views before the deadline.

The board’s executive director of planning Neil Bradshaw said: “We have already had many people coming forward to offer their views, take part in debates and suggest alternative approaches.  

“We have been pleased with the lively and robust debate we have had so far.  

“As the consultation period draws to a close, we want to take this opportunity to encourage as many people as possible to share their views and opinions with us before the Health Board makes any decisions.”

Key areas for consultation are:

· Healthcare services where you live (Localities and Community services)

· Older People Mental Health services

· Neonatal Intensive Care

· Vascular and Major Arterial surgery 

The board’s chief executive Mary Burrows said:  “The health board is clear that we cannot afford to stand still. The status quo is not an option.  

“The proposals we are now making are intended to change the way in which services are provided and where they are provided to meet quality standards.  

“Our aim is to improve health, not just extend life. We believe that services should be close to where people live whenever it is safe and appropriate. When more specialist care is needed, hospitals must be centres of excellence so the best possible care is available when needed and from the right people.” 

If the board decides to go ahead with proposals, changes will start in early 2013 with the aim of finishing the process by 2015. 

Consultation responses can be made and more information is available:-

· online at www.bcuhbjointhedebate.wales.nhs.uk and completing the online questionnaire

· by emailing jointhedebate@wales.nhs.uk

· by calling Freephone 0800 678 5297

· by writing to BCUHB Join the Debate, FREEPOST RSZZ-SGXY-TSEZ, LL17 0JA

A large print version or other formats or languages are available on request from Freephone 0800 678 5297 or email at jointhedebate@wales.nhs.uk.

You can also give your comments to the Community Health Council, your independent NHS Watchdog. You can give your views in confidence at yourvoice@bcchc.org.uk or by telephone on 01248 679284.

"Save our services" campaign gains momentum

Llangollen’s community campaign to save its local health services is gaining momentum with a call by Assembly Member Llyr Gruffydd for a guarantee about continuing care in the town

Llyr Gruffydd, Plaid Cymru’s North Wales AM, said: “Evidence is emerging that the plan by Betsi Cadwaladr to close Llangollen’s hospital and place patients in private nursing homes doesn’t really hold water. Even as an interim move this won’t work because the capacity isn’t there locally.

“The other part of the plan involves building a new health centre in the town without beds. But it is again becoming apparent that this will take years to achieve and, in the meantime, people needing localised care would be left high and dry.

“The capital needed to build a new health centre would come from the Welsh Government, which is facing drastic cuts in the block grant from central government.

 

"Does Betsi Cadwaladr have an assurance that the money it needs to build a new health centre is available? We need a guarantee that Llangollen will not be left in limbo with no hospital and no health centre.”

He added that the consultation by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board was revealing many unanswered questions on this and other proposed cuts and downgrading of local hospitals such as Ruthin and Chirk.

 

Mr Gruffydd said: “I fully support the Keep Llangollen Health Services campaign to improve local healthcare in the Vale of Llangollen. The loss of services in rural areas is already very keenly felt and this is yet another example of an area of south Denbighshire potentially losing a key service.”