By "Grumpy Granny" Judith Phillips
I DECIDED to call these occasional blogs Grumpy Granny because as I grow older I find myself developing the characteristics of Victor(ia) Meldrew.
My colleagues have lost count of the times I've scanned a news item on a local or national issue and shouted "Ludicrous!" And nine times out of ten my exclamation is prompted by the pontificating of a politician, or one of those nebulous government funded think-tanks or review bodies, which here in Wales seem to be proliferating faster than rhododendrons in Snowdonia.
When Edwina Hart was appointed Welsh health minister it wasn't long before she was prompting me to proclaim "ludicrous" when she suggested it might be a good idea if North Wales patients travelled to Cardiff or Swansea for routine neurosurgery rather than making the much shorter and more straightforward journey to the world renowned Walton Centre in Liverpool.
I wasn't the only one prompted to an ascerbic response, as our readers and health groups and bodies quickly added their voices to the chorus of disapproval and this newspaper started its We Want Walton campaign. So, what was Mrs Hart's response? She ordered a review into the provision of neurosurgery in Wales to be carried out by an eminent Scottish neurosurgeon.
She inherited from her predecessor the largely unpopular North Wales Hospitals Secondary Care Review which suggested that Abergele Hospital should close and the breast surgery and coronary care units at Llandudno Hospital should be moved to Bangor or Bodelwyddan. Not unnaturally, these proposals prompted a massive public outcry - so what did Mrs Hart do? She ordered a review into the review!
This all happened last summer and the people of North Wales are still waiting for the outcome of these reviews. First we were told the reports would be made public before the end of 2007, then earlier this month Mrs Hart told me there was a bit of a delay but we should get them soon. It's now the end of January and we still haven't had them, and being a bit of a cynic I'm wondering whether that's because the powers that be realise their content is going to go down like a lead balloon in certain quarters?
Now, I actually rather took to Mrs Hart when I met her. I believe she genuinely has the best interests of the people of Wales at heart (excuse the pun!). But I can't help thinking there may be some ulterior motive for the delay in the publication of these reviews.
It wouldn't have anything to do with the local government elections looming in May, would it? I hope not, because I believe the interests of the people of North Wales, and in particular those who live in the Weekly News circulation area, should come before politics.
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