Campaign to Save Royal Glamorgan Hospital A&E
The Campaign to save the Royal Glamorgan Hospital Accident & Emergency Department is calling on members of the Welsh Assembly to back moves for the permanent retention at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital of a 24-hour consultant led, emergency department.
The Assembly is debating proposals on the future of the hospital service on Wednesday 12 February and we strongly urge members to unite on a cross-party basis to reject the plans under consideration from the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board to close or reduce A&E services at the Llantrisant hospital in Rhondda Cynon Taff.
The campaign to save the A&E department has mushroomed as concerned residents, elected representatives and community activists have rallied to unite and oppose the plans. The campaign believes the plans would result in a severe deterioration in services with fatalities and poorer provision as an inevitable result. Over 19,000 people have joined a Facebook campaign group – Save Royal Glamorgan Hospital A&E – and public meetings with health board officials and local politicians have been packed. This figure represents almost 10% of the catchment area of the Royal Glamorgan and is a remarkable achievement in such a short space of time.
Chair of the Campaign to Save Royal Glamorgan Hospital A&E, Len Arthur, says: “The A&E department at Royal Glamorgan Hospital is an essential part of the NHS service for people in the Rhondda, Cynon, Taf and Ely valleys.
“Its downgrading would remove the backstop of an NHS service ‘free at the point of need’ for the whole area. There is now an opportunity for the Assembly Members of all parties and the Welsh Government in the Senedd debate on Wednesday to do the right thing. To take account of the huge changes that have taken place since the South Wales Programme was agreed and vote to support a permanent 24-hour consultant led service at Royal Glamorgan Hospital.”
The campaign is calling on people to join a demonstration outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay from 12.30pm on Wednesday to make our feelings known. We also urge local residents to sign petitions and join our local campaign groups which are sprouting up around the RCT area to lobby the health board to keep the A&E services fully open.
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About the Campaign to save the Royal Glamorgan Hospital A&E:
This is a grassroots campaign set up on Facebook and in the space of two weeks has grown to over 19,000 members. It has set up a series of community action groups around the catchment area and will be stepping up its actions as the campaign evolves.
The campaign’s stated aim is “The permanent retention at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital of a 24-hour consultant led, emergency department.”
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AberdareOnline Comment
It is vital that all concerned about the way our local health board is run should be alarmed at the prospect of losing the Royal Glamorgan Accident and Emergency department. You may not think it affects you but if you live in Rhondda Cynon Taf or Merthyr trust me, it will affect you or someone in your family at some point in time.
We have Labour councillors and Assembly members even Labour MPs using the attempted closing of this department as a political football when it is their political party Labour who run the Welsh NHS, and it is Labour that has the final say on whether to keep it open 24 hours downgrade it or closing it completely.
There is the Assembly election on Thursday 6 May 2021 and you Labour councillors and AMs must show they are working to keep the Royal Glamorgan Accident and Emergency department open they want your vote. It would be political suicide if the Labour Party closed this department.
Vaughan Gething Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Services can make the decision anytime to keep the department open 24 hours, so why is he delaying his decision is just for your Labour councillors and AMs to get as much publicity as they can?
Is the question of keeping the department open for Cwm Taf University Health Board or the Welsh Labour Government who run the NHS in Wales?
