The review of Community Health Councils, promised to take place two years after the controversial CHCs mergers, has been scrapped, it emerged today.
The new Health Minister has reneged on the commitment to a review made by Edwina Hart to placate campaigners, worried about impact of proposals to cut the number of CHCs from 19 to eight.
In a letter to Andrew RT Davies AM, Leader of the Welsh Conservatives in the National Assembly, the Minister wrote that the bodies had not had sufficient time ‘to evolve’ and that it would be ‘premature’ to hold a review of current arrangements.
Andrew RT Davies AM said, “Community Health Councils should play a vital role in defending the rights of patients, providing advice and, when necessary, help necessary support patients in seeking redress.
“This announcement will come as a disappointment to health campaigners who feared these mergers would make the bodies less accessible and that there might be no option to revisit the proposals should they negatively impact on patients’ rights.
“The failure to review the CHC mergers flies in the face of the Welsh Labour Government’s pledge to deliver, because Ministers will be completely blind to the impact their own policy is having on patient care.
“This latest decision is an ill-advised U-turn, which will do nothing to reassure worried patients or promote transparency in government.”
Darren Millar AM, Shadow Minister for Health and Social Services, said, “After forcing though these controversial mergers, the Welsh Labour Government has decided to scrap the review which could assess whether these new bodies are operating in patients’ interests.
“Fears were raised at the time that these proposals would emasculate CHCs and reduce their local representation so they would no longer operate at community level.
“The previous Labour Health Minister promised an open review to take place two years after the mergers in a bid to placate campaigners worried about local representation.
“Now the Minister has decided to scrap the review, which would have told us whether the mergers were in fact a costly mistake.”
