Constituency Visits and What’s Helen Mary Jones doing at Wimbledon?
A very good day in the constituency. First a visit to the Community Hospital at Machynlleth to talk about the Minor Injuries service there. There has been concern that the Minor Injuries service is going to cease but I get reassurance from members of the Local Health Board and from staff at the hospital that discussions are going on with the Hywel Dda Trust and Bronglais to provide this service, and that if this fails it is likely that the local doctors practice will provide this service. This is reassuring and it is also good to see the hospital vibrant and morale there very high.
I then visit the Owain Glyndwr Parliament Building which should have much more of a historical, cultural and tourist focus than it does have. This is no fault of the people working there and when I speak to them they tell me that they are hoping to get a telephone soon. I am staggered. Has nothing changed here since 1461? It does remind me of some of the museums that I saw soon after the Berlin Wall came down in the former Eastern block in terms of how the exhibitions are laid out. Again, this is nothing to do with the dedication of the people there but this needs an injection of support from the Assembly Government and from Powys County Council so that we can really make this something that we can be proud of because of its historic significance. Machynlleth was put forward quite seriously as a candidate for the seat of the Welsh Assembly because of its historic significance as the home of Owain Glyndwr, its Parliament and the fact that it was the ancient capital of Wales. Much more needs to be made of this.
I then visit the Tourist Information Centre in Machynlleth. No signpost to this throughout the town which is pretty astonishing. Once again the town is well served by the people working in the TIC just as it is by those working in the hospital and the Owain Glyndwr Centre.
I leave both the Tourist Information Centre and the Parliament Building with the view of what Machynlleth could be as a tourist centre, particularly with its focus now on attracting people because of the eco dimension and the Alternative Technology Centre nearby. This is an attractive town with a massive tourist potential.
From here to Tywyn to visit the hospital in Tywyn, which I do quite often, and am reassured that there are no pressing problems here.
After this back to Machynlleth to meet some constituents for lunch at the Wynnstay Hotel, and then on to Rhayader for a visit to the Royal British Legion home at Crosfield House which has been given a reprieve and has been the subject of much sustained and strong local campaigning. I meet the Matron and we have a chat about the future and she is pretty upbeat about the whole thing, which is excellent.
After discussions with constituents at the home, I drive back down to Cardiff, arriving late evening.
Having gone through the paperwork to do with visits and constituency queries during the course of the day, I switch on the television hoping to see some of today’s play in Wimbledon when a familiar face and an even more familiar voice hits me from the screen. It is Helen Mary Jones. What on earth is she doing at Wimbledon. I then realise that I am actually watching Newsnight and she is giving us all the benefit of her personal view on the issue of choice in the Welsh Health Service. I linger long enough to hear her say that choice is not important in Wales because of the geography and deprivation. I ponder if this is the same Helen Mary Jones who was keen to deny the people of North Wales a choice of having neuro surgery services in Liverpool which they wanted, a choice that was particularly important because of the geography of Wales as they didn’t want to have to travel to Swansea and Cardiff.
There is a gulf opening up between the Opposition and the Welsh Assembly Government, particularly on health. The Welsh Assembly Government is deeply ideological and I don’t think this sits with the pragmatism of most people in their desire for first class services. It strikes me that the parties in decline are always the parties that have a strong ideological perspective on the world. It was like that in the 80s with the Labour Party, and threatens to be so with the Conservative Party in the late 90s and early part of the 21st Century. Helen Mary Jones is brining it back into fashion!
I eventually find some play at Wimbledon and, with the aid of a beer from the fridge, endeavour to forget Helen Mary Jones’ view of choice in the Health Service so that it doesn’t mar what was, in every other way, a pretty perfect day.
