Gareth Davies MS today questioned the First Minister in the Senedd over the future of the Royal Alexandra Hospital development in Rhyl, following the recent granting of planning permission for the project by Denbighshire County Council, but with no funding commitment from the Welsh Government. Welsh Labour North Wales MS Carolyn Thomas asked the First Minister to make a statement on the development with Mr Davies using a supplementary question to raise concerns about the long delay in delivering the hospital and the timing of renewed political attention on the topic from Welsh Labour politicians.
Mr Davies criticised what he described as years of silence from North Wales Labour Senedd members on the Royal Alexandra Hospital, followed by a sudden ‘resurrection’ of the plans in the run-up to an election. He argued that the proposals had been significantly scaled down from what was originally promised in 2013 and suggested the project was now being used for ‘political capital’ rather than sufficiently addressing the healthcare needs of the region.
In his contribution, Mr Davies pressed the First Minister to confirm whether construction would begin early this year, as suggested by the Health Board, and whether the Welsh Government would commit to delivering the hospital to the original specifications outlined in 2013, which he argued were necessary to adequately ease pressure on Glan Clwyd Hospital.
Responding, First Minister Eluned Morgan criticised previous UK Conservative Governments and the current Welsh Conservative Senedd Group referring to what she described as “fantasy economics -wanting to build these huge places” and stating that Wales had been “deprived for years of capital funding” from previous UK Governments. The First Minister also said that “the people of Rhyl want to see this community hospital” and added that she was pleased that, under a Labour government, she hoped to see progress on the project didn’t provide a commitment that construction would begin early this year. She also did not provide assurances that the hospital would be built to the original, larger, specifications.
Commenting following the exchange, Gareth Davies MS said:
“After deflecting and shifting the blame, the First Minister still refused to give a straight answer on whether construction will begin this year, leaving many local people feeling they’ve heard it all before.
“Planning permission is only the first step, and after more than a decade of delays there are real concerns, the Welsh Government has dusted off scaled-down plans to use as political capital before the election, without committing the funding needed to actually build the hospital.
“The reduced plans fall well short of what was promised to North Denbighshire and will not adequately ease pressure on Glan Clwyd Hospital, so the Welsh Government must stop moving the goalposts, commit to an early start, and deliver a fit-for-purpose hospital rather than a watered-down version of what was promised over a decade ago.”