Plaid-Labour Government putting Nationalistic Ideology before individuals (Kirsty Williams AM )

Cymraeg
English

Kirsty Williams AM <info@kirstywilliams.org.uk>

Plaid-Labour Government putting Nationalistic Ideology before individuals

March 6, 2008 9:00 AM

In a Welsh Liberal Democrat debate on Cross border services today Kirsty Williams AM for Brecon & Radnorshire challenged the Assembly Government on their movements towards a policy of closed borders for service provision.

Kirsty Williams accused the Plaid-Labour Government of following "nationalistic policy which puts the dogma of nation building before the interests of individual's needs".

Kirsty said: "Welsh Liberal Democrats are champions of the Devolution cause and I am keen to establish a Welsh model of public services that delivers policy and practice which is tailored to the needs of the people of Wales. We do not believe in a wales only approach to public service delivery.

"Welsh people are not leaving the country en masse to use English services, leaving Welsh services to rot. Nor are English residents flooding across the border and draining our resources. It simply makes sense for many residents in border areas such as my constituency to access their nearest services, be they in England or Wales - this reflects centuries worth of interaction and a natural ebb and flow of movement.

"Our call for cross border cooperation is not an excuse to leave services and approaches underdeveloped in Wales but it should be the individual's needs that should always be at the centre of any new development.

"Over the last 10 months my own constituency casework has shown that the abstract notion of nation building is coming before the needs of individuals.

"Mr Edward Narborough has recently been told, with no consultation, that following 6 years of being treated in Hereford he will now have to travel further to Wrexham, an interruption of continuity of care and for no apparent good reason.

"Mr Owen Williams had been travelling to Bath for the past 21 year for specialist treatment for his skeletal condition he has now been told that he has to be treated within Wales, but there is no equivalent service here. Following an appeal with the local health board we have re-secured funding for his treatment in Bath.

"Patient J, a young woman who was born with a rare genetic condition which has led to multiple health problems, has received treatment from a world class consultant in Bath from a young age but Health Commission Wales has now denied essential neurological surgery in Bristol in favour of treatment in Wales. Patient J has waited and waited and is still waiting; she has gone from being relatively fit free to having two or three seizures a day, with her quality of life hugely diminished. She has waited 300% longer for her operation here in Wales than she would have done had she been allowed to have her operation in England as recommended by her consultant.

"The cause of nation building should not come at the expense of people like patient J. The individual should be at the forefront of our thinking let us not turn this border into a wall but let us work collaboratively across the boundary to ensure that we deliver for all of our citizens no matter where they live."