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Over 1,000 turn out to save local hospital services

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THE RAIN held off on Saturday (Nov 3) for another major protest against cuts to services at Withybush General Hospital.
Doctors, nurses, politicians, and members of the public were all at the protest – united in one aim – to send a message loudly and clearly to the Hywel Dda University Health Board that their consultation had no credibility and that vital services, especially the A&E department must remain in Haverfordwest.

Some of the many protesters at Withybush Hospital (Pic: Herald)

Roy Towell from Fishguard, just one of over 1,000 protesters said: “I have come out to protest because those idiots are trying to take away our hospital, and to try and get from here to Gwangwili when you are crippled, about to give birth, or injured is not easy. The A40 has been closed four times in the last three weeks, once for seven hours. So how do we get to Carmarthen in an emergency? It is ridiculous.

He added: “My message to the Chief Executive of the Health Board is ‘Listen to what we have to say – we know what we are talking about. We live here and we are being forgotten. It’s not fair, there are thousands of people living in Pembrokeshire and we need these services.”

Former councillor Peter Stock was at the protest. As a well known and respected person in the county, he said what many people are thinking: “A very big thank you to the organisers and all the People that turned out in Support of Withybush Hospital today, Hywel Dda unless you are blind, uncaring, or just plain crazy not to see how strong the feeling of the Pembrokeshire people to retain our hospital with all the facilities and A&E that is so vitally needed here in Pembrokeshire.”

Against cut backs: Vicky Moller holds a banner (Pic: Herald)

He added: “In the 1990’s when the Secretary of State for Wales announced that Pembrokeshire was to have its own health authority because there was a great need, and the best way forward for the future. So what has changed?”

Conservative MP Stephen Crabb MP thanked the people who turned out, but criticised Labour politicians for not showing up: “[It was an] excellent turn-out at the Save Withybush Hospital protest today. Huge thanks to everyone who came from all across Pembrokeshire to make their voices heard. But very disappointing that no one from the Welsh Labour Government came to listen to the concerns of Pembrokeshire. The campaign is not over; we will keep fighting to defend our A&E.”

Stephen Crabb MP and colleagues at the protest (Pic: S Kurtz)

The rain held off for just long enough for the protest to take place (Pic Herald)

Steve Moore, Chief Executive of Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “We’re aware that some people are anxious about changes to healthcare provision but our doctors and other clinicians have led this work and we believe this is our best chance to deal with the fragility of our NHS and to provide the population with safe, effective care that meets their needs.

“We want to make it clear that our plans are not to move services from Withybush to Glangwili hospital but to provide a new hospital in a more equitable position somewhere between Narberth and St Clears. This will bring many services closer to people in Pembrokeshire than they are now, including our main intensive care unit, overnight children’s (paediatric) services and high risk births. This will not happen overnight and we are committed to working with our communities and our partners to demonstrate and test what additional provision can be made in areas furthest from the new hospital, particularly for time-sensitive emergency conditions.

“We also wish to reassure people that should our plans for a new hospital be unsuccessful, we would need to reconsider how we could meet our challenges and this would mean coming back to our communities to engage with them.”
Helen Mary Jones, the Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, will be speaking at a Save Withybush demonstration outside the hospital in Haverfordwest on Saturday.

People from all over Pembrokeshire were at the protest. (Pic: Herald)

Plaid Cymru responded to the decision of Hywel Dda University Health Board to remove services from Withybush and Glangwili hospitals by calling on the Welsh Government’s Health Secretary to intervene to properly merge health and social services.

Helen Mary Jones, Plaid Cymru AM told The Herald that she had raised the issue of Withybush Hospital consistently.

She said: “Since the consultation on the future of services Plaid Cymru elected members have held a number of ‘Health Summits’, with a range of clinicians, to determine how best to deliver health and social services care across the region.

Helen Mary Jones said that the proposals are ‘disappointing’ and ‘a missed opportunity to transform health and social care’.

“There is a vacuum of information on how services will be integrated, recruitment solved, and services delivered” she added.

Mrs Jones told The Herald: “It is clear to us that the Health Board’s choice doesn’t address how services will actually be improved in the short to medium term. There is no proposal for better out-of-hours care, no plan for substantial increases in social care services, and no plans for investing in the ambulance services – only the removal of essential services and the hope that maybe, one day, we’ll see a new hospital. What we have heard so far makes no mention of the transformation that needs to occur in the relationship with local councils and the third sector for the changes to be realised.

“The west has been waiting far too long for a long-term health plan to improve our services.”

 

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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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