Tory plans will hand control of local health services to Cardiff

Cymraeg
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Eleanor Burnham <info@eburnham.org.uk>

Tory plans will hand control of local health services to Cardiff - Burnham

April 30, 2007 10:40 AM

Eleanor Burnham, Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for North Wales, has claimed that Conservative plans to abolish Local Health Boards and replace them with a single all-Wales commissioning service will take control of hospitals out of local hands and give it to Cardiff.

Ms Burnham was commenting on the proposal in the Tory Manifesto to set up an all-Wales commissioning body, which would develop secondary and tertiary health services. This body would replace local health boards in Caernarfon, Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham.

"These plans will put our local area at a major disadvantage," said Ms.Burnham "The Labour Assembly Government has already centralised services such as paediatric neurosurgery in Cardiff and is threatening to do the same with Adult neurosurgery, now the Tories want to take the service out of the hands of local health professionals and hand it to bureaucrats in Cardiff. These bureaucrats do not understand our area or our health needs. Local people are best placed to decide what we need in North Wales."

"The Tory's plans will create further organizational chaos in the health service. Many local people would see their job moved to Cardiff. After eight years of perpetual change, the service needs a period of stability, where the different branches can get used to working together, not being torn apart. We need greater collaboration, not further re-organisation in our health service."

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