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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Steep Learning Curve
January 12, 2009 12:00 AM
By Peter Black in Western Mail
By Peter Black in Western Mail
Taking over the health portfolio for the Welsh Liberal Democrats is a huge challenge and a steep learning curve. As an Assembly Member I encounter health issues on a daily basis through the cases that come to my attention by e-mail, through the post or at my surgeries. I fully expect therefore to be dealing with some familiar issues as I read up on the brief and talk to as many professionals and representative bodies as possible over the next few months.
I think that it is also worth acknowledging the huge amount of work that was done by my predecessor, Jenny Randerson. She has done a fantastic job in holding the Government to account as well as outlining a coherent Welsh Liberal Democrat alternative.
There are still numerous areas where the Welsh Assembly Government is failing. We still have waiting lists that are substantially higher than England, an ambulance service in crisis, political indecision over neurosurgery and a lack of support for NHS staff who have become victims of violence.
It is shameful that in this day and age there are still people who have to wait over twenty two weeks for operations and many who have to wait over two months for a referral to a radiology consultant. Waiting lists are full of people who are unwell and in need of support, and this affects not just them, but all those who care about them.
In the last year there have been over 8,700 reports of violence against staff in the NHS yet the Government has failed to implement the recommendations of the 'training passport' on NHS violence. While they continue to dither staff continue to be put at risk.
On neurosurgery the Health Minister has put together a compromise based on networking existing provision across two sites in Swansea and Cardiff. This has come in for criticism from consultant neurosurgeons on both sites, who have doubts as to its sustainability. It is certainly the case that the Minister has fudged the recommendations of a number of expert reports to achieve this position but at present this still remains the best way forward in the short term.
I have always advocated a single service based in Swansea's Morriston Hospital on the grounds of geography and the need to maintain a viable trauma service on that site. Patients from Swansea may be able to get to the Heath in an hour but those from Pembroke, Aberystwyth and all points west cannot. A service based in Swansea can act as a useful counterpoint to the one in Bristol ensuring that the whole of South Wales is within a reasonable travelling time of a neurosurgical facility.
Although consultants advocate a single site I think it is fair to say that there is no unanimity between them on where that should be. That is why it is important that we continue to debate this matter so that in the long term patients are able to receive the best treatment possible and lives can continue to be saved.
I am also concerned about the impact of the upcoming NHS re-organisation. Everyone accepts that the current system was not perfect, but the new proposals from the Health Minister are too centralising and will put far too much power over the day to day running of the NHS in the hands of politicians. Centralising power only hurts communities. Different communities have different priorities and we should not assume that a model in one part of the country will work in another area.
In particular I have huge concerns how this centralisation and the creation of monolithic health bodies will improve the interaction between health and social services or enable health professionals to have a greater say over the strategic direction of the service. On both counts these proposals appear to be a step backwards and leave many questions for the Minister to answer.
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