Morriston Neurosurgery Saved!

As I sat in the Assembly Chamber this afternoon I was pleased to hear the Health Minister Edwina Hart confirm that the neurosurgery at Morriston will not be closed.

This bodes well for specialised services in Wales as it means we will have a free-standing NHS for Wales for the long-term without having to depend on service provision in England.

On a wider scope, such decisions surely vindicate Plaid’s decision to enter into negotiations with Labour. ( and I am not gloating) It is true to say that Plaid is the driving force of progressive politics in Wales and hopefully this announcement is a sign of things to come if both parties agree to form a coalition over the weekend.

But of course the real victors are the people of Swansea and West Wales, and specifically those selfless activists who have campaigned tirelessly to ensure a future for neurosurgery at Morriston Hospital.

.........................................................................
Fel o’n I’n eistedd yn y Siambr pnawn ma, roedd e’n bleser cylwed y Gweinidog Iechyd, Edwina Hart yn datgan na fydd Niwrolawdriniaeth yn Nhreforys yn cau.

Mae hyn yn argoeli’n dda ar gyfer dyfodol gwasanaethau arbennigol yng Nghymru, ac yn golygu bod ganddom GIC ar gyfer yr hir dymor yma yng Nghymru, na fydd yn gorfod dibynnu ar dderbyn gwasanaethau yn LLoegr.

Ar lefel ehangach, mae’r penderfyniad yma yn cyfiawnhau penderfyniad Plaid I ddechrau trafodaethau gyda Llafur. Mae’n wir I ddweud mai Plaid sy’n llywio’r agenda datblygiadol yng ngwleidyddiaeth Cymru, a gobeithio fydd y datganiad yma yn symbol o’r hyn sydd I ddod, os ydyw’r pleidiau yn penderfynnu cydweithredu ar ol y penwythnos.

Ond wrth gwrs, y pobl sydd yn elwa o hyn, y bobl sy’n ennill o’r penderfyniad yw trigolion Gorllewin De Cymru ac Abertawe sydd wedi ymgyrchu’n galed I sicrhau dyfodol I Niwrolawdriniaeth yn Ysbyty Treforys.

Vote Plaid to save Neurosurgery!

I've just got in after returning from the Swansea Save our Health Service rally, and from canvassing in Neath. The rally went really well I think. There were speakers from all involved in the campaign locally- nurses from Fairwood Hospital, staff at Morriston, Hill House workers, alongside all political parties. Even though Plaid was the only party to vote unanimously to keep Neurosurgery in Swansea, all the other main parties were totally defiant( as you would expect before an election) that Neurosurgery would stay at Morriston after the election. Alun Cairns was booed to high hilt( bless!), nobody seemed to believe a word Andrew Davies had to say, and Peter Black was keeping a low profile.

Surprise surprise, Brian Gibbons didn't turn up to give his opinion on why key local decisions with regards the health service has been deferred until after the election! The Socialist candidate for the election made the biggest gaff of the day, by stating something along the lines of 'The NHS should stay within the private sector'. Whoops!

One issue that I was certain would be raised was that the campaign was 'political' and that this was undermining the cause. I did an interview for BBC, therefore, stating that the Labour party had politicized this issue long ago by kicking the issue in to touch until after the election, and for showing clear lack of leadership in the process of re-organising the Health Service here in Wales.

I also thought it quite ironic that Alun Cairns accused Dai Lloyd's speech at the rally of being 'political' when he was glued to the front of the demo ( pushing a coffin along the road) for the whole time! As our candidate for Neath, Alun Llewelyn later commented- anything that they do not agree with is 'political'! If, as politicians, we cannot get involved in local campaigns to help, and to protect local services, then what is the point of standing for elections, and trying to make a difference?

Overall, I thought that the rally was well organised and effective, especially as health is a key election issue. If anything is achieved from today, let's hope that it will inspire more people to vote on May the 3rd, and vote out a failing Labour Government.

5 days, 22 hours to go!

It's now 11pm and now is the first chance I've had to sit down properly all day. I've been in Maesteg today, ( where Labour's Janice Gregory was spotted-looking scarily pleased to see us!) and also Sandfields in Aberavon where we found quite a lot of Plaid support, followed by an evening session in Glyn Neath, where, to be frank, most people wanted to be left alone to watch the rugby/football on telly... Such is the way of the world!

I had a productive day today, but I must admit that I've been up and down this week. It's probably the tiredness. There's only so much canvassing I can do in a week! The HTV poll and the Western Mail poll did lift my spirit somewhat today, but as I've commented on a few other welsh blogs- we can't be complacenct just because we've had a few good polls- far from it. If anything, these polls should be an incentive to work even harder to make sure we get a Plaid Government after May the 3rd.

The election debates on the BBC have been quite interesting, and I enjoyed Adam Price's contribution on Question Time last night ( although on the question of Harry going to Iraq, my answer would have been very different!)

I'm going to the Swansea Health Service rally tomorrow at the Guildhall. Plaid's Dr Dai Lloyd will be speaking at the rally to give a few home truths about the whole saga regarding Neurosurgery. It should be an interesting day! I wonder how many Labour candidates will be there... after all, the candidates in South Wales West have all said very clearly on their leaflets that they are at the forefront of the campaign to retain the Neurosurgery Unit at Morriston. Ohhh, fair play to them!

See you tomorrow if you are at the rally. If it's another day of glorious sunshine, I don't mind canvassing and campaigning one bit!

Save Morriston Neurosurgery- rally organised for April 28th

Rwyf newydd cyrraedd nol o gyfarfod yn Nhreforys am syniadau Plaid am iechyd ar gyfer Gorllewin De Cymru. Roedd llawer o bobl yno- yn benodol daethant i drafod y posibiliad o gau Ysbyty Fairwood yn y ddinas yn ogystal a chynllun Plaid Llafur yng Nghymru i symud yr adran Niwrolawdriniaeth i oedolion i Gaerdydd. Trafodwyd hefyd materion iechyd meddwl, a'r diffyg adnoddau sydd ar gael i gefnogi pobl sydd yn edrych ar ol cleifion yn wirfoddol.

Mae grwp o bobl yn trefnu rali mawr yn Abertawe yn erbyn symud yr adran Niwrolawdrinaeth i Gaerdydd ar y 28 o Ebrill- reit cyn yr etholiad! Bydd mwy o fanylion am hwn ar fy mlog cyn hir!

I've just got back from Plaid's meeting regarding our regional health manifesto for South Wales West in Morriston. There were many people present- primarily to discuss our opposition to the possible closure of Fairwood Hospital in the city, as well as the Labour Party's plans to move Adult Neurosurgery to Cardiff. Other matters discussed were mental health treatment and the lack of resources for carers.

A group of people are now organising a mass rally in Swansea against moving Neurosurgery to Cardiff on the 28th of April- right before the election! There will be more info on this on my blog shortly!

Neurosurgery debate- will this define the election in South West Wales?

It was inspiring for Plaid in South Wales West to read the letter below in the Evening Post yesterday. Dr Dai Lloyd AM and Darren Price, the leader of Plaid Cymru's group at Swansea Council have been campaigning hard for what seems like months on end to retain the Neurosurgery Unit at Swansea. We organised a protest outside the Assembly alongside the Evening Post, and have been active in the campaign to encourage people to sign the petition to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea.

We were the only Party to vote outright against the move to Cardiff- all the other Parties showed clear signs of split loyalties. They all ultimately elected to favour their own individual priorities to that of promoting a coherent party policy on this most important issue.

Nevertheless, Brian Gibbons, the Labour Health Minister seems intent on delaying the issue until after the Assembly election; another ploy to deceive voters. I am sure that this will be a defining election issue, but Plaid will continue to campaign to keep Neurosurgery at Swansea- election or no election.

......................................................................................................................................................................l..

In recent letters on the proposed neurosurgery centralisation in Cardiff there seems a sense of resignation that, regardless of when the decision is taken and what that decision is, the Assembly elections are a foregone conclusion and the existing Labour AMs will be re-elected.In a General Election, where individual majorities can be as high as 20,000, this may be the case, but the situation regarding Assembly elections is very different.

The Post petition against the proposal produced 105,000 signatures. As far as I am aware, the vast majority of the Post's sales are in nine constituencies from Aberavon in the east (Brian Gibbons's seat) to Preseli/Pembrokeshire in the west. A Labour AM was elected to eight of those seats. The combined majority of those AMs is just 26,125. Plaid Cymru was second in six of the eight seats, and not far off second in the other two. Plaid AM Dai Lloyd was quoted (Post, January 6) as saying "a Plaid health minister would want neurosurgery to stay in Swansea".

Anyone reading this letter can see from these figures their vote is crucial. I already know which way I'll be voting this year.

John Young

Llys Sant Teilo

Llangyfelach, Swansea