News
What safety net?
THE REVELATION of the extent of the Welsh Ambulance Service crisis could not come at a worse time for the local health board.
Having scrapped SCBU and a consultant-led obstetric service and replaced it with a 24/7 dedicated ambulance, the Herald revealed two weeks ago that an advert for staff to crew the vehicle did not expire until after the service at Withybush had been removed. The Herald understands that despite Freemasons providing a specialist transport pod for babies to Withybush Hospital, that equipment has been commandeered for use at Glangwili.
As a result, Pembrokeshire neonates and infants travelling to Glangwili in an emergency will be reliant upon a heated mattress. A standard specification ambulance does not carry the equipment a sick neonate requires. To transport a sick neonate or baby needs specialised transport from the ground up. The ambulance must have the floor attachments to secure 200kg of neonatal transport incubator. All of the equipment must be the size for a neonate. While paramedics will do their best they are not a specialist neonatal transport nurse, of which two are required. Safe in the knowledge that the summer recess was coming, Health Minister Mark Drakeford claimed a robust safety net would be in place to ensure patient safety.
Mr Drakeford has avoided scrutiny for now, but is sure to face questions on how the Board persuaded the government that an understaffed and under-resourced service was either safe or robust. He will hardly need reminding that any mishap or tragedy will be laid firmly at his door. It also appears that despite repeated assurances that mothers will not have to travel outside the health board area to deliver their babies, and in spite of planning the closure of SCBU at Withybush for years, facilities are still not ready at Glangwili.
The Pembrokeshire Herald has been contacted by Martin McGeown, whose wife Bianca is expecting twins, a boy and a girl: “We have had a few complications with the little boy so we were back and forth to Cardiff. We are now in Singleton, Swansea. No cots were available at Carmarthen and we were sent to Bridgend hospital on Friday. “I then drove at 12 at night with Bianca down to Swansea as a bed become available. We were told if no cots were available in Wales we would have had to go to Birmingham that day.
“I’m so sad about our hospital and my heart is with all the midwives who have been treated so badly. I hope we can do something about this, as you don’t realise until it happens to one of you “Me and my family have been pulled from pillar to post not knowing were our children would be born. Swansea Singleton are amazing but deep down it should have been at Withybush. “This is not going to get better and has to be sorted.” Commenting on the closure this week of the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush Hospital, MP Stephen Crabb said: “I was deeply disappointed to see SCBU close this week. Pembrokeshire residents have fought long and hard to retain this vital service but the Welsh Labour Health Minister has pushed on regardless.”
“I have discussed these changes with both the Health Board and the Welsh Health Minister. At no point have I been reassured about the apparent safety-nets planned to deal with emergencies in future. We do not know if these are even operational. With SCBU now closed, this is a damning indictment of Welsh Labour’s health policy.” “People are right to be concerned. Even if the A40 is free from problems, Welsh ambulance response time targets have been missed year after year. Already this week we have seen reports of police cars across Wales transporting patients to hospital because ambulances are not available.” “I have written again to the Welsh Health Minister voicing my concerns. Pembrokeshire residents deserve, at the very least, to be given assurances that adequate plans are in place for dealing with emergency cases.”
Business
Largest Welsh port appoints communications and marketing director
THE Port of Milford Haven has announced that Anna Malloy has been appointed as its first Communications and Marketing Director.
Anna is appointed to the Senior Management Team and this new role will be pivotal to the delivery of the Port’s long-term growth and diversification agenda and in ensuring that its obligations to coastal communities, future generations and to nature are honoured.
Tom Sawyer, CEO of the Port of Milford Haven, congratulated Anna and said: “Anna has a key role to play in our future and it’s doubly lovely to see ‘port-grown-talent’ flourish and for colleagues to progress up through our organisation.”
Anna will lead across the public affairs, marketing, sustainability, media relations, and community relations activities. She will therefore play a central role in the development of new and existing partnerships, including the Celtic Freeport, the Milford Haven Energy Cluster and the Celtic Collection; sitting alongside the delivery of major projects like Milford Waterfront and the Pembroke Dock Renewables Terminal.
“This is such an exciting opportunity. I am proud to be joining the Senior Management Team and look forward to delivering our ambitious strategy,” commented Anna Malloy, Communications and Marketing Director.
She added: “The Port of Milford Haven is playing a key role in the transition of South-West Wales’ economy to a decarbonised future. A beautiful place, with great people, that I am privileged to call my home.”
Community
First deadlines met following enforcement action at landfill site
THE first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill in Pembrokeshire have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action by Natural Resources Wales (NRW).
NRW issued site operator Resources Management UK Ltd (RML) with a further Regulation 36 Enforcement Notice on Thursday 18 April.
This outlined a series of actions to be completed by specified deadlines to address the ongoing odour and landfill gas emission issues at the site.
During the latest site inspection which took place yesterday (Thursday 25 April), NRW was able to confirm that three actions have been completed – two ahead of the imposed deadlines.
The operator has installed 24 pin wells, which have been driven into the waste in the lower section of the cell identified as causing the odour issues (Cell 8). These have also been connected to the landfill gas extraction system.
Capping material has been placed over the same area of the cell and welded to the basal liner to encapsulate gas in this area, allowing for extraction by the pin wells and four horizontal gas wells, which were previously installed.
While progress is being made, NRW officers detected strong landfill gas odours during an offsite assessment on Wednesday (24 April) in Poyston Cross and Crundale. Weather conditions this week appear to have led to a wider spread of landfill gas to surrounding areas, not solely linked to wind direction.
NRW odour assessments follow a set route around the landfill, with designated survey spots, identified to enable consistency of assessment and reporting. This is essential to ensure the regulatory and enforcement responses where there is offsite odour attributed to the landfill is robust.
The remaining Regulation 36 Notice actions will require significant effort by RML to ensure they are completed on time and NRW continues to closely monitor progress.
Clare Pillman, Chief Executive of NRW, met with representatives from NRW’s South West Industry Regulation Team and Pembrokeshire County Council during a visit to Pembrokeshire on Thursday 25 April.
Clare Pillman, Chief Executive, Natural Resources Wales, said: “While visiting the area surrounding Withyhedge Landfill with our regulatory team and partners from Pembrokeshire County Council this week, I was able to see and hear for myself just what people living and working in these communities have had to endure as a result of the odour issues from the site.
“What they have been experiencing is unacceptable and our officers have been working tirelessly alongside colleagues at Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator gets this under control as quickly as possible. While it was clear that a lot of work has been done on site, there is still more to do to ensure they address all the actions set out in the enforcement notice.
“We want to make sure that happens, and are exploring every option together with Pembrokeshire County Council to ensure the operator works quickly to resolve the issues which are clearly affecting the quality of life of people in these communities.”
Huwel Manley, Head of South West Operations, said: “While we are reassured that action is being carried out by the operators at Withyhedge Landfill with a sense of urgency, we are continuing our regulatory presence on site to ensure the operator’s focus remains on tackling the issues that will address the continuing odour issues being experienced by surrounding communities.
“We will be closely monitoring progress over the coming days and weeks to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May. If they are not met, we will pursue additional enforcement action where appropriate.”
NRW requests that instances of odour from the landfill continue to be reported via this dedicated form: https://bit.ly/reportasmellwithyhedge or by calling 0300 065 3000.
Please report odours at the time of them being experienced, rather than historically. Reporting odours in a timely manner will help guide the work of partners more effectively, particularly in the further development of air quality monitoring.
Community
Milford Haven’s war memorial is 100 years old today
THE Milford Haven War Memorial, a significant landmark commemorating the fallen heroes of World Wars and subsequent conflicts, marks its 100th anniversary today.
The memorial, which was inaugurated on April 26, 1924 by the Venerable the Archdeacon of St Davids, remains a poignant symbol of sacrifice and hope for peace.
Constructed from 1923 to 1924, the memorial consists of a striking assembly of pink granite and white marble statues that were sculpted in Italy.
Representing the Army, Navy, and Air Force, these life-size statues stand on an unpolished three-step plinth below a main pedestal. A soldier faces west and a sailor east, with an airman atop the central column, surveying the skies.
The names and inscriptions of the fallen are carved into the polished granite shaft, meticulously supervised by surveyor J.P. Morgan with contractor E. Jones of Llanybydder.
Located on Hamolton Terrace with views over the Milford Haven waterway, the memorial is a freestanding structure in an external, roadside setting. It features a serviceman/woman sculpture in marble and Portland stone, set on a concrete base surrounded by railings. Inscribed plaques honour those who served in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War, and the conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2009.
The memorial lists the names of 239 men who perished in the First World War on its polished grey granite faces. The Second World War claimed 157 lives from this community, whose names are recorded on bronze plaques around the base. Notably, the memorial also honours one serviceman who fell during the Korean War and another who was killed in Iraq in 2007.
The Milford Haven War Memorial stands not only as a historical monument but also as an enduring reminder of the costs of war and the community’s ongoing commitment to peace.
As the town reflects on a century of remembrance, the hope remains that future generations will continue to cherish and learn from the lessons of the past.
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