Tomorrow is the 18th April 2011. So What ?
Well, to my little band of 'warrior-like' service users and carers, this date has great significance as it is the final date when we could file an Application for Judicial Review against the perpetrators of three sham 'consultations' for; The closure of the Midwife-Led Unit at Llandough hospital in favour of the University of Wales hospital site in Heath, Cardiff; The closure of Rookwood hospital, with services ( supposedly equivalent ) moved to the top floor of Llandough hospital, which has been cleared of all women's services ( gynaecology etc ), as well as the fairly new and very successful Intensive Care Unit. Needless to say, the 'consultation' document 'Making a Difference' didn't even bother to refer to the removal of these essential services, nor the closure of the Cardiac Care Unit that has twice saved my life.
Again - "So flippin' What ?" Why should this skulduggery affect the mental health service users.
Coinciding with these two highly improper ( and we contend, illegal ) consultations, another was introduced for 'Adult Mental Health Services', misleadingly preceded by those famous words "Bringing Excellence To...". After four planning approvals for a new mental health hospital to be built on the Whitchurch site, the new and incompetent Cardiff & Vale University Health Board officers had decided - behind closed doors, of course - that the new inpatient unit should be built on the already overcrowded Lllandough site. The stunned public and patients were treated to machine-gun-like presentations from the duplicitous Board Director, Katie Norton, backed up by the 'Mr Bean' of the University Health Board Paul Stollard, Director of Planning, no less. I mustn't forget that the Community Health Council Chaired these virtually empty meetings, demonstrating a level of intelligence-insulting, ineptness that has never been seen since the 'bent' consultation meetings held under the two clowns Martyn Jenkins. The ineptness was demonstrated by their attempting to use the wrong Welsh Assembly Government Guidelines, which I pointed out to them at the first meeting. They then ( like a rabbit out of a hat ) produced a set of 'Interim Guidelines', supposedly based on three consultations held in faraway counties in the principality - totally irrelevant to Cardiff and the Vale, of course, and totally ignored by both the University Healtht Board and their fawning lap-dogs the Community Health Council. Every point of variance from the Queen of Harts' guidelines was painfully spelt out to the University Health Board, the Community Health Council, and the Minister and her subjugated administrative team. Even the Ombudsman had a detailed copy which , as with his fellow villains, he failed to investigate. Thick as thieves, they all sang from the same song-sheet, with lies flowing like a Tsunami over the bemused public, patients and staff. Undeterred, we engaged a solicitor, committing a large sum of money to engage a noble Barrister, who said that our case was 'excellent', but extremely expensive for us, up against the £8 + millions that the University Health Board had already thrown away preparing the Whitchurch site. So, having 'lost our deposit' ( as it were ) we are now unable to seek the Judicial Review against the illegitimate representatives of Cardiff & Vale's public and patients, who have been denied all their rights, as specified in the Health and Social Care Act and every piece of quasi-legislative documents created for mental health services.
"SO BLOODY WHAT !" I hear you scream.
So, having been cheated out of rights and the support of OUR government, we appear to have been beaten, by the overwhelming weight of unconcsionable, remorseless opposition
."Not yet, we 'aint....." says I, "....not by a long chalk" [ TO BE CONTINUED ]
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