Globe Hustings - Health and Education

I must say I was most impressed by Andrew from 18 Rabbit, who chaired the meeting magnificently last night.
There were 6 candidates on the stage. From left to right they were Chris Davies (Conservative), Chris Carmichael (Green), Matthew Dorrance (Labour), Roger Williams (Lib Dem), Freddy Greaves (Plaid Cymru) and Darran Thomas (UKIP). Roger Williams was the only one who didn't need to use the mic.
The opening statement was from Maggie Sims of the Bronllys League of Friends, laying out the problems with the NHS in this area, problems with linking up social care and hospital treatment for the elderly particularly, travelling long distances for specialised care, and long waits to see consultants. She also said that the League of Friends have campaigned for ten years to keep Bronllys open, and they're not about to give up now!
So, she asked, what are the candidates plans for the NHS? What about funding? And will there be a fair deal for Wales, which is at present underfunded in comparison to Scotland?

Chris Davies (Con) said that a lot of services for Powys are provided by Shropshire and Herefordshire. He's in favour of a cancer centre at Bronllys.
Chris Carmichael (Green) said that travel costs for treatment are a problem. The Greens want to reverse the NHS cuts and will fund this by dealing with tax evasion and by raising taxation. About 7 billion pounds needs to go into the NHS, and tax evasion stands at around 25 billion at the moment, which would fund it easily. He also wants to see health and social care funded together and working together more (at present, social care is funded by County Councils, who are having their budgets squeezed).
Matthew Dorrance (Labour) said they want to provide 1,000 more health professionals. Funding is determined by something called the Barnet formula, which is the cause of underfunding in Wales, and this needs to be changed. He doesn't see a problem with people going across the border for services - after all, it is a National Health Service.
Roger Williams (Lib Dem) supports the new vision for Bronllys (I've talked about this in previous posts). Cutting the deficit is an issue. He supports increasing tax on the wealthy. The boss of the NHS (I missed his name) recently said that about 8 billion pounds a year is needed and Roger Williams also wants to see more investment in Llandrindod Wells Cottage Hospital.
Freddy Greaves (Plaid) also wants to see 1,000 more doctors across Wales. He wants to see incentives given to GPs to encourage them to settle in rural areas, such as paying off their student loans. He wants to see health and social care integrated, too. He also wants to end austerity, scrap Trident, and tax sugary drinks - and reverse the privatisation of the NHS.
Darran Thomas (UKIP) lives in Rhayader, and his nearest big hospital is Aberystwyth. He thinks it's terrible that the Air Ambulance service is funded by charity shops. The NHS should remain free at the point of delivery and funding should be increased for the elderly and mental health. He wants to scrap tuition fees for health professionals and bring back matron in hospitals - the old way of running hospitals. He also wants to see training for NHS managers. He would also tax corporates, and scrap the HS2 rail line.

Questions from the floor started with John Stark's observations. Cancer units, for instance, need a lot of specialised technology and staff, and a low density rural population can't support that, so travel to larger centres of excellence is necessary.
A chap from Clyro started to make a point about foreign aid, but was stopped by Andrew in the chair, to keep things on topic.

The next question started with the comment that the Conservatives are negative about the health service in Wales.
Chris Davies (Con) said that, no - the staff are great, but the management is rubbish, and it's the Welsh Assembly's fault.
Matthew Dorrance (Lab) said cutbacks by Westminster are to blame, but the Welsh have gone for a preventative approach to health care. Billions have been wasted on top down re-organisation (cheers from the audience).
Roger Williams (Lib Dem) said the NHS has low morale, and the English and Welsh services should work together.
Freddy Greaves (Plaid) said that the Powys satisfaction rates with the NHS are the lowest in Wales. He wanted less re-organisation, no more PFI schemes and hospital car parks to stop charging so much. We should look to Scotland, which has the most efficent health service now.

Sean O'Donahue said that the Tories are demonising the NHS, but looked at from around the world, it's really quite a good service. He also mentioned the problems in Powys because of the low density population.
Darran Thomas (UKIP) said we should be proud of our NHS. He also read out some of the promises that David Cameron made in 2010, all of which have been broken, such as no re-organisation, and no front line job losses.
Chris Carmichael (Green) said that the NHS is admired around the world. But we need to increase funding to the same level as other European countries. He also wants no more PFI, which is ridiculously expensive, no more re-organisations and no privatisation. He'd also like to see more general surgeons, rather than narrow specialisations.

The next questioner said that there is a need to co-operate. Lots of money is wasted in ways that do not help patients. Can we expect a general hospital in Powys soon?
Roger Williams (Lib Dem) said that the problem was location. When he spoke to people in Llandrindod Wells, they wanted a general hospital there, and when he spoke to people in other areas, they wanted it in Newport, or at Bronllys. Hereford Hospital survives because of patients from Powys - otherwise Herefordians would have to go to Worcester. He also wants to see better provision for mental health, which is very poorly served in Powys. He also wants carers to be better supported, the unsung heroes in the health system.
Chris Davies (Con) agreed that cross-border co-operation was crucial. He was also against moving Nevill Hall hospital further south.

To round up, Maggie Sims said that it was good that several candidates have said they want to see a better link between health and social care - and that, in their campaigning to save the hospital, "We wouldn't have slogged our guts out if Bronllys staff weren't fantastic."

So that was the first half of the evening. Next time - Education.