Llanfrechfra Grange Hospital public fury at closure

Description

A newspaper clipping describing the public outrage at the plans to close Llanfrechfra Grange Hospital. The plans were initiated in [date] and like many communities across Wales; local people protested the idea of resettlement. The groups in Cwmbran, such as the Llanfrechfra Grange Residents, Relatives and Supporters Association and RAGE actively opposed the idea and were some of the loudest oppostition to the proposals in Wales. The reasons behind this are complex and understandable. Many parents had put their absolute trust in a system, which was suggested, as the safest place for their sons and daughters to spend their lives, away from the prejudices of wider societies. Resettlement and the proposal to close the hospital, partiularly in the aftermath of reports into other facilities in Wales, such as Ely, turned this on its head and forced many parents to consider the fact that the hospitals may not have been the safe haven they had imagined they would be. Concerns were also raised about the specific needs of many residents, and about how these could be met in the alternatives to long-stay hospitals.