Senedd told public health responses "ignored" (From Western Telegraph)

Senedd told public health responses "ignored"

10:30am Saturday 2nd February 2013 in News

South Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Angela Burns has voiced her concerns about how responses to Hywel Dda’s proposals have been considered during a Senedd debate.

“The health board via their appointed agency sent out 5,000 targeted or closed questionnaires which received a total of 697 responses and a further 4,500 additional open questionnaires and detailed submissions were also received from the public in response to urgings by Hywel Dda Local Health Board (LHB) to engage and make their views known.

“However in the proposals which went to the board the LHB appears to have taken and given prime consideration and weighting to the 697 closed questionnaires and are terming this the ‘qualitative data’,” said Mrs Burns.

She added that some constituents felt their voices were not being heard.

“They are largely ignoring the other data – from the approximately 4,500 open questionnaires which they and ORS classify as ‘quantitative’ despite the fact that I, the CHC, other elected colleagues and leaders of communities were told on more than one occasion by the LHB and at the public meetings ‘that the main conduit for people to become involved was to use the questionnaire’.

“This they did in these large numbers – one of the largest responses ever received by ORS – and it is now proving almost meaningless.

“We said to people, ‘Fill in your questionnaires and we will listen to you.’ They filled in their questionnaires in their thousands.

“They attended public meetings in their thousands. They went to drop-in sessions in their tens and twenties. They have largely been ignored.”