Health Board consultation was lawful - press release from Hywel Dda
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s consultation to improve and sustain healthcare across Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire has been upheld as fair and lawful by a High Court Judge.
Mr Justice Hickinbottom delivered his verdict on a Judicial Review application in respect of the Health Board’s 2012 consultation process on potential service change across the region, and specifically in relation to emergency care at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli.
Refusing permission to move to judicial review on all grounds, the judge said: “On the basis of the submissions and evidence before me, I am wholly unconvinced that any aspect of the procedure adopted by the Health Board or the (Health) Minister was unfair, on unlawful.”
Welcoming the decision, Director of Corporate Services, Chris Wright, said he hoped the judgement provided staff, patients and members of the public with the assurance that the consultation was not only lawful but fully compliant with best practice.
Mr Wright added: “We have always maintained that our consultation fully complied with the law and was open, accessible and inclusive. We are delighted that this has been recognised by the Judge and hope that this marks the end of what has been a long and costly process.
“Our legal costs in defending the case are in the region of £300,000 – money that would have been better spent on front line services.
“We are now eager to continue working with our clinicians, to deliver a fit for purpose emergency service for Llanelli.”
The decision supports an external audit undertaken by an expert, not-for-profit body The Consultation Institute, which awarded the University Health Board a Certificate of Best Practice for its consultation process
The University Health Board was party to two other Judicial Review applications brought against the Minister for Health and Social Services in the same hearing. The first also related to emergency services at Prince Philip and the second to neonatal care at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest. Both cases were similarly refused.
• Your Health Your Future saw an unprecedented amount of engagement and consultation for the NHS in Wales. The consultation exercise included distribution of more than 16,500 consultation documents, almost 10,000 hits to the website, staff and public focus groups, attendance of almost 1,000 people at 10 public events and more than 5,000 direct formal responses, amongst others.
• When awarding the Compliance Assessment Scheme to the University Health Board for best practice, Rhion Jones, Programme Director of the Consultation Institute commented: “Consultations on changes to the NHS are often controversial and we recognise that some proposals are deeply unpopular. However our role is to ensure that when difficult decisions have to be taken, all relevant views have been fairly gathered and properly considered. It is not always an easy or straightforward task, but on this occasion we are satisfied that the Hywel Dda (University) Health Board met our requirements.”
• A report by the independent research company , Opinion Research Services (ORS), commissioned to support the consultation and independently analyse submissions, said: “As a research practice with wide-raging experience of controversial statutory consultation across the UK, ORS is able to certify that both the listening and engagement and formal consultation processes undertaken by [the LHB] have been both intensive and extensive. Overall, there is no doubt that both exercises have been conscientious, competent and comprehensive in eliciting the opinions of stakeholders and many members of the public.”
• An Expert Panel set-up by the Health Minister also confirmed in January 2014 the need for change to neonatal services in hospitals across Wales and endorsed the University Health Board’s plans for provision of maternity led units in the region.
Mr Justice Hickinbottom delivered his verdict on a Judicial Review application in respect of the Health Board’s 2012 consultation process on potential service change across the region, and specifically in relation to emergency care at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli.
Refusing permission to move to judicial review on all grounds, the judge said: “On the basis of the submissions and evidence before me, I am wholly unconvinced that any aspect of the procedure adopted by the Health Board or the (Health) Minister was unfair, on unlawful.”
Welcoming the decision, Director of Corporate Services, Chris Wright, said he hoped the judgement provided staff, patients and members of the public with the assurance that the consultation was not only lawful but fully compliant with best practice.
Mr Wright added: “We have always maintained that our consultation fully complied with the law and was open, accessible and inclusive. We are delighted that this has been recognised by the Judge and hope that this marks the end of what has been a long and costly process.
“Our legal costs in defending the case are in the region of £300,000 – money that would have been better spent on front line services.
“We are now eager to continue working with our clinicians, to deliver a fit for purpose emergency service for Llanelli.”
The decision supports an external audit undertaken by an expert, not-for-profit body The Consultation Institute, which awarded the University Health Board a Certificate of Best Practice for its consultation process
The University Health Board was party to two other Judicial Review applications brought against the Minister for Health and Social Services in the same hearing. The first also related to emergency services at Prince Philip and the second to neonatal care at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest. Both cases were similarly refused.
• Your Health Your Future saw an unprecedented amount of engagement and consultation for the NHS in Wales. The consultation exercise included distribution of more than 16,500 consultation documents, almost 10,000 hits to the website, staff and public focus groups, attendance of almost 1,000 people at 10 public events and more than 5,000 direct formal responses, amongst others.
• When awarding the Compliance Assessment Scheme to the University Health Board for best practice, Rhion Jones, Programme Director of the Consultation Institute commented: “Consultations on changes to the NHS are often controversial and we recognise that some proposals are deeply unpopular. However our role is to ensure that when difficult decisions have to be taken, all relevant views have been fairly gathered and properly considered. It is not always an easy or straightforward task, but on this occasion we are satisfied that the Hywel Dda (University) Health Board met our requirements.”
• A report by the independent research company , Opinion Research Services (ORS), commissioned to support the consultation and independently analyse submissions, said: “As a research practice with wide-raging experience of controversial statutory consultation across the UK, ORS is able to certify that both the listening and engagement and formal consultation processes undertaken by [the LHB] have been both intensive and extensive. Overall, there is no doubt that both exercises have been conscientious, competent and comprehensive in eliciting the opinions of stakeholders and many members of the public.”
• An Expert Panel set-up by the Health Minister also confirmed in January 2014 the need for change to neonatal services in hospitals across Wales and endorsed the University Health Board’s plans for provision of maternity led units in the region.
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