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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| 'Disgust' at child hospital cash | 'Disgust' at child hospital cash |
| (about 6 hours later) | |
| Cardiff Local Health Board is expected to pull out of the funding of phase two of the Children's Hospital for Wales. | Cardiff Local Health Board is expected to pull out of the funding of phase two of the Children's Hospital for Wales. |
| A charity which has campaigned for the hospital for 15 years has accused the LHB of "ignoring the strong wishes of the public it serves". | A charity which has campaigned for the hospital for 15 years has accused the LHB of "ignoring the strong wishes of the public it serves". |
| Health chiefs have said they cannot afford to give it priority over other services. | Health chiefs have said they cannot afford to give it priority over other services. |
| The Noah's Ark Appeal - which has raised £10m for the hospital - has said it is "disgusted". | The Noah's Ark Appeal - which has raised £10m for the hospital - has said it is "disgusted". |
| The LHB said it recognised the need for purpose-built child treatment services but said the final phase of building would cost an extra £5.1m each year, of which its share would be £1.1m, an amount they say they cannot afford. | The LHB said it recognised the need for purpose-built child treatment services but said the final phase of building would cost an extra £5.1m each year, of which its share would be £1.1m, an amount they say they cannot afford. |
| I cannot believe that your board regards the ill-health and treatment of sick children not to be a priority Lyn Jones, Noah's Ark Appeal | I cannot believe that your board regards the ill-health and treatment of sick children not to be a priority Lyn Jones, Noah's Ark Appeal |
| In an open letter to the LHB, Lyn Jones, chairman of the Noah's Ark Appeal trustees, express the group's "disgust" about "the low priority status" the LHB was giving the hospital. | |
| "The board acts as a guardian of public funds, and yet talk of the children's hospital not being a priority for investment, indicates an arrogant board that does not intend to carry out the wishes of the public that it serves," wrote Mr Jones. | "The board acts as a guardian of public funds, and yet talk of the children's hospital not being a priority for investment, indicates an arrogant board that does not intend to carry out the wishes of the public that it serves," wrote Mr Jones. |
| "The people of Wales in supporting the Noah's Ark Appeal have strongly demonstrated that they wish to see a children's hospital - a purpose-built, world-class, child-friendly facility - a far cry, as you will know from the state of the surgical wards in which many thousands of the children that you will affect, have to put up with. | "The people of Wales in supporting the Noah's Ark Appeal have strongly demonstrated that they wish to see a children's hospital - a purpose-built, world-class, child-friendly facility - a far cry, as you will know from the state of the surgical wards in which many thousands of the children that you will affect, have to put up with. |
| 'Challenging financial climate' | 'Challenging financial climate' |
| "I cannot believe that your board regards the ill-health and treatment of sick children not to be a priority." | "I cannot believe that your board regards the ill-health and treatment of sick children not to be a priority." |
| An LHB spokesman said: "In the present very challenging financial climate faced by the LHB, the extra costs of the current plans cannot take priority over other essential services." | An LHB spokesman said: "In the present very challenging financial climate faced by the LHB, the extra costs of the current plans cannot take priority over other essential services." |
| Jenny Randerson, AM for Cardiff Central and the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for health, called for the Health Minister Edwina Hart to take a "strategic lead" in the matter. | Jenny Randerson, AM for Cardiff Central and the Liberal Democrat spokeswoman for health, called for the Health Minister Edwina Hart to take a "strategic lead" in the matter. |
| She said: "We've gone so far, we look plainly foolish that we can't actually put this second phase into practise. | She said: "We've gone so far, we look plainly foolish that we can't actually put this second phase into practise. |
| "It is a tragedy for the children concerned." | "It is a tragedy for the children concerned." |
| Cardiff LHB says it cannot afford the hospital's extra costs | Cardiff LHB says it cannot afford the hospital's extra costs |
| The hospital treats children "the length and breadth of Wales". | |
| However, Mark Isherwood, Conservative Assembly Member for north Wales, said he did not think LHBs there should have to help foot the bill, as money was needed for children's facilities closer to home. | |
| Asked about an option of getting every LHB to foot the bill, he told BBC Radio Wales' Good Morning Wales programme: "There would be concern, for instance, in my region of north Wales if the health community was expected to fund or contribute towards this where health provision is very much operated on a west-east basis and we need money for children's wards and intensive care facilities in north Wales." | |
| But Lyn Jones said some children did travel from north Wales for treatment. | |
| He said: "If they're going to get the best treatment, the family don't mind where they travel." | |
| Mr Jones added that while he appreciated the difficulties facing the LHB, the funding was "absolutely crucial to sick children". | |
| 'Running costs' | 'Running costs' |
| The LHB said members would be asked to discuss the matter on Wednesday. | The LHB said members would be asked to discuss the matter on Wednesday. |
| "The board is being asked to support the principle of the completion of phase two of the Children's Hospital for Wales, but not to support the current plans because the extra running costs of the new development cannot be afforded by the LHB," said the spokesman. | "The board is being asked to support the principle of the completion of phase two of the Children's Hospital for Wales, but not to support the current plans because the extra running costs of the new development cannot be afforded by the LHB," said the spokesman. |
| "Cardiff LHB will therefore work with the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust to develop revised plans and find further service efficiencies, which will reduce the cost to the LHB," he added. | "Cardiff LHB will therefore work with the Cardiff and Vale NHS Trust to develop revised plans and find further service efficiencies, which will reduce the cost to the LHB," he added. |