The Welsh Government consultation document entitled ‘Services fit for the future’ set out a number of proposals with the declared aim of strengthening the voice of citizens in health and social care. However, in the view of many people, the proposal regarding community health councils will not provide an effective and independent voice for patients in Wales. The consultation proposes to abolish community health councils in their current form and establish a new body, based, in some respect, on the Scottish Health Council. This all-Wales body would work across health and social care.

Community health councils represent the public’s interest in the way services are planned and provided. There are seven community health councils in Wales—one in each of the local health board areas, and responsible to the same local population. The role is to listen to what individuals and the community have to say about health services with regards to the quality, quantity, access to and appropriateness of the services provided for them. They then act as the public voice in letting the managers of the health services know what people want and how things can be improved. In my view, abolishing community health councils and setting up an all-Wales body on the Scottish model will seriously weaken accountability and public influence. It will break the vital link between local people having a say over the services provided by their local health boards. Community health councils provide an accessible outlet for patients, service users and the public to engage with their health services. This is particularly important for vulnerable patients. Community health councils are able to represent the interests of such patients when they are unable to do so themselves.

Removing this established and independent avenue for engagement and scrutiny runs the risk of silencing communities’ concerns on the delivery of local services. This is an essential component for the improvement of future services within the NHS in Wales. Abolishing the CHCs is also likely to exacerbate the inability of health boards to settle complaints within the existing 30-working days target. At present, nearly half of the complaints to Aneurin Bevan health board are outstanding after 30 working days. My concerns are in no way alleviated by the example set by the Scottish Health Council, which the Welsh Government seems to think is the model we should follow. The Health and Sport Committee of the Scottish Parliament voiced its concern earlier this year. This committee is chaired by Neil Findlay, a Labour Party Member of the Scottish Parliament. They said they were clear that the Scottish Health Council did not, in its current guise, represent itself as a body independent of Government.

Concerns were also expressed that SHC’s function was not clear to the public or to the health boards. They appeared to lack any formal role on direct engagement with patients and the public who may be impacted by proposed service changes. Indeed, one representative of the Scottish Health Council, when asked about local protests against service changes, told the committee it was not their role to campaign on behalf of local groups. No wonder the committee concluded that the SHC was a ‘toothless hamster’. I believe we must retain community health councils with increased powers and responsibilities as the best way of meeting the Welsh Government’s aims set out in this consultation. Deputy Presiding Officer, this Government in Wales are not very happy to make changes to the NHS, but they are quite happy to make changes to the NHS’s eyes and ears of the public, and want to change it, which is not acceptable. Thank you very much.