A HEALTH shake-up has left the future of Conwy services uncertain.
Last month health minister, Edwina Hart, announced reforms to Community Health Councils (CHC) in Wales. Under the changes 17 of the existing 19 CHCs will be dissolved and six CHCs will be created in their place.
Board members at Conwy CHC, which monitors NHS services in the Conwy West area, fear local focus, vital services and jobs will be lost.
Changes will take place from April 1 and members argue the dedicated CHC for Conwy will vanish. The newly created council would cover Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.
A public consultation began last year, to gauge opinion on the services and ended last month.
Cllr John MacLennan, chair of Conwy CHC, said: “We made it plain to the minister that this is not what we wanted. To keep community focus we suggested the new North Wales health council should be split into three, with the central council covering Conwy and Denbighshire. To keep it local. We felt they didn’t take any notice of the consultation. I am very sceptical about centralisation of health.”
Conwy CHC, based at Trinity Square, Llandudno, has 12 board members, including health professionals and elected councillors. The new health council will have between 24 and 72 members.
Cllr MacLennan said: “The staff are uncertain about their future, they don’t know if their jobs will be safe. They have said no redundancies, but people don’t know if their jobs will be there when re-structuring takes place. Our core area of work, inspection, won’t be affected. But there are other things that may be.”
The news comes after the responsibilities of the Conwy Local Health Board were assumed by the Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board last year, as part of the reform of the NHS in Wales.
Old Colwyn councillor Cheryl Carlisle, who is Conwy’s patient welfare champion, said: “I have worked with the health board to re-shape services for people with Alzheimers. We will be going from having a dedicated service for Conwy to sharing with the whole of North Wales.
“The staff at the health board are devastated and they have been excellent, always going above and beyond the call of duty. I am extremely worried about cases of residents across my ward, we have used them for problems including cancer treatment times. I don’t know what will happen. We are already feeling the impact of the loss of Conwy’s health board.”
What do you think? Have your say by commenting below.