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‘One complaint’ claims CHC

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Surprised by the report: Tony Wales

Surprised by the report: Tony
Wales

ON THURSDAY (Jan 8), the Community Health Council reported it had received only one complaint about the transfer of maternity and children’s services to Carmarthen. Responding to the report former Chair of the Community Health Council (CHC), Tony Wales said: “I was extremely surprised to learn from the Pembrokeshire CHC meeting today that the CHC have only received ONE complaint, to date, regarding the transfer of women’s and children’s services to Carmarthen.”

He continued: “Am I to assume that most of what I read on the SWAT Facebook pages are in fact either not true or just highly exaggerated by people who post their accounts of their problem? “If I was a member of the Ministers panel who was tasked to review the impact of service change I would have no alternative but to report back to the Minister that there is no credible evidence to support that there has been any adverse impact on Parents and their children.”

Mr Wales comment on social media generated a number of responses which suggested that there is considerable confusion about the entirely separate roles of the Health Board and the Community Health Council, which is independent of it.

What is a Community Health Council ? 

The Community Health Council (CHC) is made up of 36 members appointed by local councils, the Welsh Government and the voluntary sector. It is separate from and independent to the Health Board. The CHC acts as a monitor on the services provided by the Health Board and to provide advocacy services and support for those who wish to complain about health services.

In addition to these roles it seeks the community’s views on its health service, inspects premises, and provides information about local health services. When the Welsh Government looks to find out how many complaints exist about the local health service, provided by the Health Board, it will normally consult with the CHC to establish what complaints have been made and to which element of service provision they relate. The CHC asks that patients: “Tell us about your experiences of the health service, good or bad.

You may feel that you have not received the quality of service expected and feel upset about what has happened and want an explanation or make a complaint. “Whether it’s any of these or some other matter to do with health service provision, please let us know – that’s what we’re here for.”

What about social media ?

 Complaints made on social media will not be taken into account by the Welsh Government or the Board. Only complaints made through the Community Health Council will be acted upon. The CHC will not conduct or handle litigation, only complaints about service. Comments on Facebook have suggested that the CHC should simply cut and paste records of complaints made on various patient pages and record them as formal complaints.

It cannot do this. It is up to individuals to make complaints to the CHC themselves. If individuals want to complain, they should communicate with the CHC. The CHC’s advocacy service is free of charge and provides an independent client-led advocacy service to those who wish to complain about care or treatment received from the NHS.

Watering down 

The Welsh Government is known to be frustrated by some Community Health Councils for standing in the way of its drive to cut and merge NHS services across Wales. The former chair of the local CHC, Tony Wales, was threatened with libel action for questioning the conduct of the Health Board’s consultation before it proceeded with its planned service cuts in Pembrokeshire.

CHC’s elsewhere in Wales were also urged to water down their objections to plans to centralise health services. The Welsh Government now plans to seize control of the CHC’s by putting one of its own placements in post as the head of the national body for Community Health Councils. As we have previously reported, the current Chief of the local CHC, Ashley Warlow, is stepping down at the end of this month. No replacement for Mr Warlow has been sought or appointed at this stage, despite him providing his notice in October 2014.

 If you have a complaint 

Lyn Neville from Pembrokeshire Cancer Support contacted us after hearing the CHC’s report of a single complaint. He told us: “It is very important that if you have a problem you report it to the Pembrokeshire Community Health Council who are the public’s Health Service Watchdog.

“The Welsh Assembly have a duty to review service changes and if problems are not fully reported it will appear that there are no issues and everything is fine. “We all know this is not the case. The Health Board will ignore stories in the Press and on Facebook etc but they cannot ignore your ‘official’ complaints.”

He continued: “So, please – if you have had, are having, or have in the future – a negative experience involving Maternity or Paediatric care you must tell the Community Health Council. “You can Telephone, e-mail or write to them. This can be done anonymously if you prefer not to give your name.” The contact details are – Telephone – 01646 697610 (when told Press “1” for the Pembrokeshire Branch of CHC).

Email – [email protected]. uk Write to – Pembrokeshire Community Health Council, Suite 1, Cedar Court, Haven’s Head, Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, SA73 3LS Contact the Advocacy Service Phone: 01267 236326; Email: HDDComplaints. [email protected] Lyn concluded by asking: “Please do this as it could save a life and make a huge difference to our services at our Hospital.”

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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