Jacob Williams https://jacobwilliams.com

There’s just over a month to go until Hywel Dda closes its public consultation on its plans for the future as set out in the ‘Your Health, Your Future’ document.

The local health board’s consultation document covers some money-saving proposals with a very sketchy level of detail. It contains a mix of either/or propositions, and some “we have lots of options open to us, what do you think?” scenarios – which rightly suggests that the views of the public are important.

The document is not detailed in the slightest, and glosses over the information that they probably think would be lost on a mere peasant like me – but I am told that each chapter is backed up with a number of technical notes booklets (consisting of over a thousand pages in total) which are available on the board’s website or in reply to any request will be posted or emailed.

The way that this all-important public opinion will be delivered to the health board is through a questionnaire which closes on 29th October, and it can be submitted online or in paper form, free of charge to a freepost address.

The only other means by which the health board is carrying out public-engagement (that I am aware of) are public meetings in each of the three counties it covers. The Pembrokeshire meeting was held at Sir Thomas Picton School last Thursday. I was unable to attend, but I’m pleased to hear that the hall was about three-quarters full.

Seven watered-down drop-in sessions are also going to be held within the board’s area between the 2nd-24th October, including one for north Pembrokeshire on 17th October in Fishguard Town Hall, and for the south of the county, at Kilgetty Community Centre on the 24th October. Both of them run between 2-7.30pm and the Hywel Dda’s website states that: “senior managers from the health board will be available to listen to and speak with those who attend on a one to one basis.”

Even if you tend not to read newspapers or turn on the news, you’ll have done well this week to have avoided the ongoing charade of Andrew Mitchell’s alleged outburst at a police officer in Downing Street, and whether or not he called the officer a pleb. A similar disrespect for the hoi-polloi has been shown by top-ranking Hywel Dda officers in its handling of this consultation – and I speak as one who’s witnessed it first-hand.

Earlier this month the voluntary group South East Pembrokeshire Community Health Network hosted a public meeting at the New Hedges Village Hall, where Hywel Dda were invited to give a presentation on the background to its proposals and this consultation exercise.

The chairman of SEPCHN and host of the meeting was Mansel Thomas – a good-humoured character and an effective and dedicated campaigner on health issues. There are many reasons for concern within the consultation document, but as he highlighted, the main gripe of this meeting and for the south-east of the county was the proposed closures of the Tenby (and South Pembs.) minor injury units.

After the presentation, Thomas opened the floor to questions.

The man who was tasked with providing the answers was Dr. Iain Robertson-Steele, the health board’s director of clinical care, and some of his responses were quite astounding. I’ve picked two of the most memorable:

A member of public highlighted the extra distance Withybush Hospital was from those who were currently being served by the Tenby MIU, and the increased expense there would be for a taxi journey. Doc’s response was that the lady should “do what my grandmother used to do” and “save £20 notes in a jam jar.”

Another of Doc’s sensible suggestions that left a bitter taste was that members of the public should go out and buy or start to make up a first aid kit for the home – practical advice which I’m sure he’ll find most helpful if he sprains his ankle coming down the stairs from his ivory tower.

Questions were also taken from the floor at the meeting in Sir Thomas Picton School on Thursday night, and were put to none other than Trevor Purt, the board’s chief executive. I’m aware that a number of questions that were submitted were not read out, and the answers provided to those those that were read out were evasive.

As I said, I wasn’t at the meeting, but local AM Angela Burns was. During the meeting she published a few tweets. One of them seems to confirm that Mr. Purt and Dr. Robertson-Steele are nothing if not consistent:

Oh dear, CEO has totally patronised the person who has posed one of the most erudite and intelligent questions so far.

— Angela Burns (@AngelaBurnsAM) September 20, 2012

I wonder what savings might be made if the consultation considered the salaries of senior health board officials?