Plaid Cymru Health Spokesperson Elin Jones AM has described Wales’ network of district general hospitals and the services they offer as vital to communities during the economic crisis.
Ms Jones said that the tough economic times and high travel costs meant that travelling further to access medical services would put an unacceptable financial strain on those who need the Welsh NHS most.
Elin warned of serious implications for public health if people were discouraged from accessing medical services due to increasing costs. She also warned that the public purse would lose out in the long term.
Currently LHBs are drawing up plans for the future of service provision in their areas.
Plaid Cymru Health Spokesperson Elin Jones AM said:
“The tough financial times that many families are going through now are another strong reason why our local hospitals should not be downgraded, moving services to regional centres. We know that distance can be a barrier to people accessing the services they need, because travel can be simply too expensive. With less money around, what toll will this take on some of the least well-off in our communities?
“If people do not access the medical services they need, we know that can lead to further health problems down the line. If that happens, there will be serious implications for public health and for the public purse as more services will be required to deal with the results.
“The long and short of it is that Labour said clearly during the election campaign that they would not downgrade and centralise hospital services – yet now they are planning to do just that. If they do preside over the undermining of our district general hospitals, it will be a betrayal of all those people who took them on their word when they assured people they would do no such thing.”
