17/02/2008

New Money for Bronglais

Plaid Cymru's AM for Ceredigion, Elin Jones recently joined the One Wales Government's Minister for Health and Social Services, Edwina Hart AM, on a visit to Aberystwyth's Bronglais Hospital . During the visit, the Minister announced immediate funding totalling nearly £33 million to be divided among hospitals in Wales in order to buy new hospital equipment and carry out minor alterations to existing hospital buildings in order to improve facilities for patients. Ceredigion and Mid Wales NHS Trust will be receiving a share of over £626,000 of this announced funding.
Following the visit to Bronglais Hospital with the Minister for Health and Social Services, Ceredigion's Elin Jones AM said:

"I was very glad to have been invited by the Minister to join her during her visit to Bronglais Hospital . During our visit we were shown the benefits of using the latest developments in telemedicine to provide links between hospitals. This is a very welcome innovation -especially for a rural area like Ceredigion because it can help to reduce the distance a patient must travel in order to be seen by a specialist - and the funding will partly be used to develop this service further. The nature of this funding announced by the Minister also means that Ceredigion residents will start to see its benefit in the immediate future".

Following their visit to Bronglais Hospital , Elin Jones AM and the Minister for Health and Social Services met with representatives from Ceredigion's Beacon of Hope, including its founder Elizabeth Murphy. Elin Jones AM later added:

"This is the Minister's second visit to Ceredigion in as many months. During her previous visit where she met with representatives from local organisations to discuss the future of healthcare in Ceredigion, the Minister showed a great interest in the work of the Beacon of Hope and therefore took the opportunity to visit the charity's Aberystwyth office today. The Beacon of Hope provides an invaluable service to local residents, and I was especially pleased that the Minister recognised the importance of the work carried out by Elizabeth Murphy and her staff".