Anyone who watched the news and Dragons Eye last night could not have failed to be a little mystified by what exactly was going on with Edwina Hart.
It seemed to go something like this…..
1. Dragons Eye uncovered that the Health Minister had ignored advice by her top officials for a single South Wales neurosurgery site.
2. Edwina Hart announces to the press (not to the Senedd) that life-prolonging drugs for kidney cancer patients will be available to all on the NHS.
3. Cancer drugs story jumps to top of the news, Neurosurgery moves to second.
4. Patients groups welcome announcement, but pose the question as to why the Minister has waited until three weeks before NICE are expected to make this decision anyway, when they have been calling for this move for months.
5. Edwina says she doesn’t care about clinicians views on neurosurgery, says she is a politician and is doing what the people want. She then refuses to do an in-depth interview and allow her decision to be scrutinised, but is left looking rosy to the people, despite what the clinicians may think.
6. Betsan Powys notes the fact that Edwina is probably very happy with both these stories, putting her in the headlines, right where she wants to be.
All this allows us to come to three solid conclusions:
1. Edwina Hart is the most clever media operator in Welsh Labour. She may not be polished and smooth, but boy is she smart. There are few politicians who can announce good news which overshadows bad news, but then manage the bad news so they come out looking good in that story as well (at least to the people of South West Wales.).
2. Under Edwina, the NHS can kiss goodbye to any hope of clinically based decision making and she does not care who knows it. This will be politically popular in the short term but disastrous in the long term. It is hard to believe we are hearing some of the stuff she is saying, but by the time it all goes wrong, she won’t be Health Minister any more, because…………
3. If she stands, Edwina Hart WILL be the next First Minister
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