11:44am Thursday 20th December 2007
A controversial move to merge the three counties NHS trusts was given the green light by Welsh Assembly health minister Edwina Hart yesterday.
The minister said that Pembrokeshire and Derwen, Ceredigion and Mid Wales and Carmarthenshire NHS Trusts will merge on April 1st next year. The name of the new Trust is currently under Ministerial consideration.
The proposal to merge the three trusts was almost unanimously voted against by Pembrokeshire people during the 2006 designed to deliver consultation.
The Community Health Council has also opposed the merger, formally voting against it last October.
Save Withybush Action Team has also been vocal in its opposition, saying that the merger will lead to the creation of a super trust will be a huge threat to local health services.
However health chiefs from the three counties maintain that it will improve patient care, streamline organisational arrangements and pool the considerable expertise and experience of staff to help support and grow services across the three counties.
"Having considered all factors, the view remains that the creation of a single Trust will best enable the delivery of improved, sustainable services to patients across the three counties in the future," said project board director Keith Thompson.
Acting chief executive for Pembrokeshire & Derwen NHS Trust Caroline Oakley added: "A single Trust will be able to explore opportunities for new ways of working that make the best use of the wide range of expertise, experience and resources across the three counties, cutting bureaucracy and releasing more resources to front-line services.
"The need to modernise working practices and to be more efficient and effective in the provision of equitable and sustainable quality care is a continuing priority that would not be easy to resolve by three smaller Trusts."
The chief executive from all three trusts have given assurances that staff will be kept fully informed of developments as they occur. Arrangements are being made to keep staff, partner organisations, patients and the public up to date with developments.
"We recognise that this is a challenging time and will be working closely with our staff organisations to ensure a positive way forward in creating high quality, seamless and sustainable health and social care services for the people of Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire," they said.
For more comment on the merger pick up a copy of Wednesday's Western Telegraph.
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