Health watchdog urges public to fill in consultation survey (From Western Telegraph)
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Health watchdog urges public to fill in consultation survey
3:50pm Friday 5th October 2012 in News
The Community Health Council is urging everyone to have their say on Hywel Dda Health Board’s consultation on the future of healthcare in Pembrokeshire.
The chairman of the Hywel Dda CHC, Tony Wales, is worried that there is a lack of significant awareness and is impressing on everyone to get fully involved.
Mr Wales said it was “imperative for people to consider the proposals in detail and to fully respond via the questionnaires available from the local health board”.
The Your Health, Your Future consultation outlines a number of potential changes to healthcare in Pembrokeshire.
He said: “We do not want apathy to set in. Many of the proposals, if implemented would impact not only on the current population but upon future generations – our children and our children’s children.”
He added that while the proposals and the supporting technical documents were available on the health board’s website, together with the associated questionnaires, hard copies could be mailed to all those who did not have access to a computer or who preferred to respond via the printed documentation.
Responses can be returned freepost and only sections relevant to residents need to be completed.
He recognised that there were many petitions, often with hundreds of signatures, but said they were unlikely to be considered as part of the consultation.
“It would be far more purposeful and effective if all of these petition signatories actually completed the questionnaires,” said Mr Wales.
He also called for there to be ‘champions’ across towns and villages, issuing the documentation and questionnaires and collecting the responses.
CHC chief officer Ashley Warlow said that the organisation’s formal response would be made prior to the end of the consultation period, and as the patient watchdog this would recognise what patients, the public and staff were saying at the public meetings, forums or privately wherever he and his CHC members went.
