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AM’s fury after being ‘silenced’ over Royal Shrewsbury Hospital
Thursday 3rd March 2011, 2:51PM GMT.
Mick Bates
A Mid Wales politician has hit out after he was denied the chance to speak in the Welsh Assembly about plans to move some services from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital to Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.
Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates said he had made repeated requests to talk about the controversial plans in the Assembly chamber but the Government had turned him down.
He said: “I am extremely disappointed that despite my repeated requests, the Welsh Government refuses to engage at any level to examine the strategic impact on Welsh services of proposed changes to hospital services by the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust.
“In every consultative meeting I have attended regarding the changes, Welsh patients were astounded that the Welsh Government is exhibiting such total lack of concern for their health.
“The First Minister continues to argue that this is an England-only issue and that the Labour-Plaid Government does not need to engage in the consultation. This is simply wrong.”
He said it “totally ignor- ed” that Powys Teaching Health Board spent £21 million each year with the hospital trust and the impact on ambulance services.
“The Welsh Government must reassure the people of Mid Wales that their interests are being represented by their Government in Wales,” said Mr Bates.
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That’s right,
keep your nose out of English affairs.
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Andy your a fool to think that… a large section of the in take into RHS is Welsh and the money that is brough in by that is accepted by the Trust so you can’t have it both ways!
Grow up!
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Andy, Mr Bates has a point. The Welsh government does not want the expense of building a new hospital for Mid Wales, so why not help co-fund services at Shrewsbury? It makes sense.
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Re 2 Above
..and when the Welsh decide they will sort out their own health service provision they will drop Shrewsbury services as soon as it suits them without a care as to the impact in Shropshire.
We would be complete fools to rely on continuing Welsh use / part funding of services in Shropshire or to design any service provision around their current use.
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A man with the utmost respect for the NHS and the people who work in it.
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When on earth will people understand, hospitals (unfortunately) are now run like businesses. If the RSH loses a large part of its paying customer base it will not be able to survive. The Welsh are not leeching on the RSH, they are keeping it going. They PAY!
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