Staff appointed for home care service to replace hospital

Health Board outlines plans for what will replace Blaenau Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital. The health board has confirmed that staff have been appointed to help run a new care at home service, which will replace a community hospital that closed earlier this year.

Despite years of protest, the doors of Blaenau Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital were finally shut to patients in March, which meant losing all in-patient beds and services such as the X-ray and minor injury unit.

But despite the ongoing outcry, the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board has  this week outlined its plans for what will replace the facility.

A spokesman confirmed that nursing and administration staff have already been appointed, and are undergoing training for what will be a new  Enhanced Care at Home Service in Meirionnydd.

Now in their post, staff are  currently undergoing training.

The spokesman added: “A new Blaenau Ffestiniog Integrated Health and Social Care Project Board has been established which met for the first time this week.

“This Board will meet monthly and has begun the detailed planning of the new integrated facility.

“In the coming months, a number of services will start to be delivered from Ffestiniog Memorial Hospital. We are working with local authority colleagues to deliver a specialist dementia day care service as well as a carers support group.

“The Health Board is also working with colleagues in leisure services to launch a new Foodwise programme to aid weight loss and promote healthy eating habits and a falls prevention programme is being introduced as soon as possible.

“Paediatric speech and language therapy and the child and adolescent mental health service will also be re-locating to the site to enable them to provide an increased and more comprehensive service in Blaenau Ffestiniog.”

Last week also saw the hospital’s League of Friends meet to discuss the fate of  their leftover funds, following the closure of the community hospital.

Inviting local solicitor Richard Williams to give his opinion, his advice was that the League should support other medical needs in the town whether it was the Health Centre or even helping patients who had returned home after receiving treatment in hospital.

Only recently, the League  donated £1,000 to purchase a new refrigerator for the Health Centre, while the blood pressure and ECG equipment donated to the now closing Llan Ffestiniog surgery have been returned, and are to be used by the local district nurses.

Welcoming Mr Williams’ input, League chairman Glyn Lloyd Jones said: “It was important  for the League to receive legal advice as we still have money donated to us by people in memory of their loved ones.

“We are determined to use that money for the betterment of the community”.