Llandudno Hospital

As someone who was involved at the coalface of the Assembly election campaign in Aberconwy last year, I remain acutely aware of the concerns raised by thousands of people across the constituency regarding the proposed downgrading of Llandudno Hospital and the campaign to stop the transfer of specialist medical and coronary care to other larger hospitals in North Wales.

Given this, it must have been a body blow to campaigners to read the health minister’s announcement on Tuesday that her review endorsed the proposals of the original “Designed for North Wales” document, namely that coronary care, breast care surgical services and acute stroke work should be relocated to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd.

Having read the report from the review, I would argue, as I did throughout the election campaign, that this has been another expensive exercise in creating three general hospitals across North Wales and ensuring that Llandudno’s status is reduced to that of a community hospital which cannot serve the local area effectively.

Yet again, this new review, whilst consulting widely on proposals, does not try to ‘think the unthinkable’ and works within the constraints of the current funding arrangements of the NHS rather than examining how services can be retained at Llandudno Hospital or even considering putting an argument forward for the expansion of key services.

This is especially the case with breast cancer care where there remains a rare opportunity to create a centre of excellence in the hospital that would be second to none within the UK for the type of support it gives to patients.

Of course, if the Labour-Plaid Government is serious about retaining services within small local hospitals, then it could look closely at how bureaucracy has grown out of all proportion in the NHS in North Wales, where the three NHS Trusts employ nearly three hundred senior managers and executives, and over 2000 clerical and administrative staff.

This means that for every three nurses, there is one administrator, and for every three doctors, there is one senior executive.

More shockingly, since 2002 the Labour Assembly Government has set an extra 252 targets for the NHS to follow, all of which take the time of frontline staff away from dealing with patients.

Whilst funding is being spent on increased administrative burdens, vital services are being downgraded in hospitals such as Llandudno as the tighter settlement from the Treasury continues to pay for increased bureaucracy rather than employing key staff and purchasing key equipment.

During the last eight years, the Welsh NHS has become over-managed, over-administered, and under-resourced and the removal of specialist care from local hospitals is not the solution to its problems.

Instead of worrying over what to cut, the Minister for Health should be examining how funding can be transferred from the growing army of pen-pushers to supporting frontline services for local residents.

Small efficient general hospitals work well in other countries, why not in Wales?

Certainly, her decision – when she eventually makes it - will have serious repercussions for her own Labour Party and, more significantly, her political partners in Cardiff Bay.

If Plaid Cymru, probably against the wish of the local AM, endorses the loss of any services at Llandudno Hospital through their usual policy of silent acquiescence, it will drastically erode the electorate’s future trust in their ability to deliver their key promises.

Indeed, it could be the local issue of hospital services in North Wales, and not any grand policies such as greater devolution from Westminster, that could make or break this coalition government, and rightly so.