Respite Centre Ignored

THE attitude towards HIV and Aids in North Wales is one of ignorance.

That is the opinion of Philip Kearton Smith, pictured, manager at Penmaenmawr’s Tyddyn Bach respite centre, who says HIV charities shake their heads in disbelief when talking about Wales because our record on tackling the disease is so poor.

Wales’s only HIV and Aids respite centre has only been used by a Welsh sufferer twice since 2004 because it gets no statutory funding from either Westminster or Cardiff. Only English health authorities fund patients to visit Tyddyn Bach.

This is despite the fact new cases of HIV in Wales rose by 13% in 2006.

Philip said: “Local health boards across Wales aren’t interested. I’ve rung each one of them to tell them what we do in this centre and I was even met with giggles down the phone with one health board in Mid Wales.

“Only Swansea and Cardiff seem to get what we do. Conwy County Council is totally clueless about our work, I’ve received quite a few calls from various departments in the authority and it soon becomes apparent they think we are either an old people’s home or a hospice.

“We’ve been here 10 years now and around 200 people with HIV come from England every year for respite because their health boards understand what we offer, they have funding for respite care.

“There are over 1,000 people with HIV in Wales and they are alone. Many face prejudice and most go to clinics in Manchester, Liverpool or London to get treatment because it’s better and they can be totally anonymous there,” he added.

“The health boards don’t tell people about us so when we ask them for funding they simply say there is no need for such a service because nobody has asked for it, but that’s because people don’t know we exist!

“When I contact the Welsh Assembly I just get sent back to health boards, it’s a ludicrous merry-go-round and we’ve almost given up on Wales.”

Mark Isherwood, Assembly Member for North Wales, has written to Edwina Hart, the health minister, concerning the problem. Mark has requested the minister take action and to also visit Tyddyn Bach when she’s next in North Wales to discover what the centre offers.

He said: “Tyddyn Bach is an award-winning respite centre and it is vital to ensure people with HIV/Aids and their carers can access those services in Wales.

“I hope the minister can take action and overcome the barriers that have ensured that, to date, virtually all of the centre’s clients are from England. Almost none of its clients are from Wales.”

Health Minister Promises Visit to Penmaenmawr Centre

AFTER years of successive Welsh health ministers saying they were too busy to visit the HIV respite centre in Penmaenmawr, the present minister has finally promised a visit.

The award-winning Tyddyn Bach, which celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, provides respite care for people and their families living with HIV and Aids.

Unfortunately, Wales’ only HIV respite centre has only been used by a Welsh sufferer twice since 2004 because it gets no statutory funding from either Westminster or Cardiff. Only English health authorities fund patients to visit Tyddyn Bach.

Philip Kearton-Smith, the manager at Tyddyn Bach, hopes a visit from Edwina Hart will change this.

He said: “I’m very pleased she has agreed to a visit, we’ve been trying for years to get ministers from Cardiff here but it seems we might as well be on the moon.

“I’ve been passed from pillar to post in the past so this is great news. I’d like to thank Mark Isherwood AM, who is a great friend of Tyddyn Bach, who invited the minister.

“We’ve also in the past invited Conwy County Council’s chief executive Derek Barker on quite a few occasions, but again we are always told he’s too busy, and never offers to send anyone else instead.

“I think when Mrs Hart visits she’ll get a feel of what we do and hopefully be impressed enough to give us some funding in the future,” he added. “It seemed that in the past, during election time, ministers would promise to move mountains for us and then we’d quickly be forgotten about after the election.”

Even the BBC is taking up Tyddyn Bach’s cause after spotting an article in the Weekly News. Radio 4 has been to the centre and interviewed Philip and users of the centre and the results appeared on the station’s You and Yours programme.