‘YES IT WILL, NO IT WON’T’:- Local residents who attended a meeting at Whitecross School last November about the Local Development Framework may recall Councillor Jarvis’s promise to attend a meeting with representatives from Here for Hereford to discuss the subject of bed shortages in the County Hospital. In particular, Here for Hereford wanted to know how could the Council commit to increasing the County’s housing stock by 16,500 when current hospital provision was so inadequate? Nine months on, this meeting has still to be arranged, despite continuing assurances from Councillor Jarvis that it will be held.
In May of this year, when asked in Council about the need to add the subject of Hospital Provision to the list of Requirements in the LDF Infrastructure Delivery Plan, Councillor Jarvis answered : ‘Yes, it will be’.
Imagine our surprise to learn, just two months later, that Councillor Jarvis has changed his mind about Hospital Provision being in the Delivery Plan – a summary of his answer given in Council on 20th July is: ‘No, it won’t be’.
On what basis has Councillor Jarvis changed his mind in just two months? He says:Discussions regarding the need for improved healthcare facilities in Herefordshire as part of developing the Core Strategy indicate that new housing development will not lead to a requirement for more hospital based care. [Note the emphasis on ‘not’].
This is because the emerging health and social care model, both nationally and locally, aims to reduce the amount of time people spend in hospital, to treat more people in the community and in their own homes, and to increase personal responsibly for health leading to healthier lifestyles and the prevention of ill health.
So that’s alright then? No, it is not. Here for Hereford will continue to press for their meeting with Councillor Jarvis and his NHS Colleagues to uncover the facts about bed occupancy and domiciliary care. And they look to Councillor Jarvis to change his mind again, and put Hospital Provision back on the list for the Core Strategy Delivery Plan.
