Madam,

As per recent legislation, Hywel Dda health board envisages more ‘resilient’ communities and greater voluntary sector involvement for health, both provision and prevention.

To aid this period of change, Hywel Dda presents the fictional ‘Teulu Jones’, one of whom, 82-year-old Mari, has “mild dementia”.

Mari gets her blood pressure taken by the hairdresser once a week.

Yes, I read it twice too.

This suggestion is based on a scheme implemented in a small number of African-American barbershops.

The African-American and Afro-Caribbean barbershop traditions, historically, are of a frequently males-only barbershop; a forum, a regular meeting place for discussions, often acting almost as an unofficial community council.

No direct correlation can be drawn between these cultures and that of a salon in west Wales where Mari has her “weekly set and blow dry”.

This is just one of the more ridiculous aspects of a fictitious family and ‘community’ on which the health board models the delivery of future community services.

Hywel Dda has done some research, basing its conclusions largely on a King’s Fund report into a highly successful scheme in Canterbury, New Zealand, featuring a catchment area centred on a large urbanised centre of population (unlike Hywel Dda’s), where residents pay towards primary health provision (unlike here), where social care is largely government funded with little or no voluntary sector involvement (unlike here).

Hywel Dda states it serves Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion. I think we can now add ‘Cloud Cuckoo Land’.

Yours etc,

George Holloway, Rhoshendre, Waunfawr, Aberystwyth.

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