News

Come clean over cancer cash

Published

12 years ago

July 11, 2014

Tom Sinclair

ADAM’S CHARITY SHOP, HAVERFORDWEST

A LOCAL charity, Adam’s Bucketful of Hope, has asked the Local Health Board to refund money given to it to fund cancer treatment at Withybush Hospital.

During his treatment for leukaemia, Adam Evans-Thomas campaigned vigorously to persuade the then government to pay the costs of DNA tests for bone marrow donors and, through his campaigning zeal, also helped enlist 3,000 people on to the bone marrow register. During the later stages of his illness, Adam established the Bucketful of Hope appeal, to raise money to refurbish Ward Ten at Withybush Hospital and support the construction of a new Cancer Day Unit (CDU). Adam died of leukaemia in 2004 but his campaign was continued by his mother, Chris. The charity has raised just under £650,000 towards the costs of refurbishing and building cancer facilities at Withybush Hospital. But now Chris Evans-Thomas is asking for the money back. Gross delay in the Health Board even agreeing the location of a new CDU over the last ten years has exhausted her patience. In an interview, she said that she had been given several dates for the works to start on a CDU but that nothing had ever been done to realise those plans. As a result, of the Health Board’s failure to act, she has now asked for the money back so she can crack on with fulfilling Adam’s wish to provide cancer services within Pembrokeshire. The Herald understands that the Board is unlikely to agree to her request. The Local Health Board has claimed, as it has in relation to cutting other services at Withybush Hospital that staff shortages and recruitment problems have delayed refurbishing Ward Ten and building a CDU. The Board has, however, been widely and repeatedly criticised for its apathetic recruitment practices and has been alleged by some campaigners to have engineered staff shortages to justify its plans to shift essential services away from Withybush to Glangwili, where the Chemotherapy Day Unit was refitted in 2011. The situation has been muddied by the failure of the Board to ring fence money raised to provide services in Pembrokeshire. The Board amalgamated its various charitable funds into the Hywel Dda General Fund in March 2012, with a pot for cancer treatment ACROSS the Health Board area, and now touts for donations to this charity. Hywel Dda claims that £550,000 has been dedicated to refurbishing Ward 10 at Withybush and to building a Cancer Day Unit. A spokesperson for the Board said: “The capital build is only part of the challenge as all service/units that we provide require a review of staffing to ensure that they are sustainable in the long term. “We continue to work hard with colleagues, partner organisations and stakeholders, including our charitable fundraisers, to ensure we provide the best care possible for cancer patients and will continue to work closely with them on the development of the new chemotherapy day unit.” Local campaigner Lyn Neville is unimpressed by the Board’s stance: “A Hywel Dda Charitable Funds Committee Summary Report written in 2010 stated that a decision could not be made until after the clinical review had concluded in Summer 2011. Assurances were given that the Cancer Day Unit was NOT under threat and the Chairman, Mr Chris Martin, agreed to issue a statement to provide assurance to the local population. The statement never happened and three years on still nothing happens with the CDU and Ward 10. “As it happens, Board minutes from September last year say that the announcement of £550,000 of funding in Pembrokeshire is intended to ‘appease’ local sentiment.” If that was the Board’s plan, it has spectacularly backfired. As the Herald previously reported, a further review of Cancer Services – initiated only in the last few months – is now not scheduled to report until the end of 2014. In relation to that review, a Health Board spokesperson said: “This process is not about reducing the service we offer but is about creating a more sustainable, high quality service. This may mean the way we deliver cancer services may change.” The failure to update oncology services at Withybush are rendered even more shocking in light of the Herald’s recent revelation that the Board had not advertised in good time for a replacement for cancer specialist Dr Anne Barnes MBE, who earlier this year told the Board she was retiring. A check carried out on the Health Board’s jobs website shows that while a recruitment advert for a number of general medical posts is online, the closing date for applications is July 6, with new staff unlikely to be in post much before this September. In November 2013 it emerged that outpatient appointments at Withybush Hospital for cancer sufferers had been capped. As a result, instead of attending in Haverfordwest, some patients and staff were required make a three and a half hour round trip to Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli twice a month.

Business

Plaid energy policy challenged by Labour after Adam Price interview

Published

12 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Tom Sinclair

LABOUR SAYS MINISTERS MUST EXPLAIN COST AND TIMETABLE FOR PYLON PLANS

PLAID CYMRU’S approach to energy infrastructure has come under scrutiny after Energy Minister Adam Price was challenged over plans to reduce the use of overhead pylons in Wales.

Mr Price defended the Welsh Government’s position during an appearance on BBC Radio Wales’ Sunday Supplement, arguing that communities must have greater confidence in how major grid projects are handled.

Plaid Cymru has pledged to give communities a stronger voice over energy developments and to look more closely at alternatives to overhead transmission lines, including underground cabling where possible.

The issue has become increasingly sensitive in rural parts of Wales, where proposed pylon routes linked to renewable energy schemes have raised concerns about landscape impact, tourism and local consultation.

However, Welsh Labour said the minister had failed to explain when any restriction on pylons would take effect, or who would pay the additional cost of placing cables underground.

A Welsh Labour spokesperson said: “Adam Price keeps saying how clear their manifesto was and yet he won’t say when they’re banning pylons. They won’t say who is paying for the extra cost of undergrounding cables.

“Without certainty, companies won’t invest. That’s thousands of clean, green energy jobs at risk. Plaid need more than a plan to have a plan.”

Labour said the Welsh Government must now set out how its policy would work in practice, including whether it amounts to an outright ban, what exemptions would apply, and how any extra costs would be funded.

The debate highlights the challenge facing ministers as Wales seeks to expand renewable energy generation while addressing public opposition to large-scale grid infrastructure.

Community

Pembroke Fair praised as well-organised community event

Published

12 hours ago

May 24, 2026

Tom Sinclair

HORSES, STALLS AND FAMILY CROWDS RETURN TO MONKTON

FAMILIES, horse owners and visitors turned out in force for Pembroke Fair on Saturday (May 23), with many praising the event as one of the best organised in recent years.

Held at the Community Centre Field in Monkton, the annual fair brought together horse owners, traders and local families for a traditional day centred around horses, ponies, stalls and socialising.

Coloured cobs, heavy horses, ponies and horse-drawn traps attracted attention throughout the day, with many visitors gathering around the field to watch the animals being shown and led around the site.

A variety of stalls selling everything from clothing and ornaments to tack and second-hand goods helped create a lively market atmosphere, while food vendors kept visitors fed throughout the day.

Despite overcast conditions at times, the event remained busy, with many attendees staying for several hours to enjoy the traditional fair atmosphere.

Community members later took to social media to praise the smooth running of the event, with several publicly thanking organiser Charlie Price for his efforts in bringing the fair together.

Comments described the day as “well organised” and praised the welcoming atmosphere, with many saying it was encouraging to see a long-standing local tradition continuing to thrive.

The fair once again brought together members of the travelling community, local residents and horse enthusiasts from across west Wales.

A horse drive was also due to take place on Sunday (May 24), continuing the weekend’s celebrations.

Photo captions:

Traditional gathering: Horses, ponies, horse-drawn carts and market stalls drew crowds to Pembroke Fair in Monkton on Saturday (Pic: Herald).

News

Watchdog criticises health board over £10m GP contract checks

Published

2 days ago

May 23, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A HEALTH board has been criticised by Audit Wales after GP contracts worth more than £10m were awarded without sufficient due diligence checks.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board allowed a GP partnership associated with eHarley Street Primary Care Solutions to take on eight GP contracts in south-east Wales, with a combined annual value of around £10.1m.

Audit Wales said the board should have carried out greater scrutiny before approving the arrangements, including checks on financial resilience, workforce plans, business risks and the partnership’s ability to manage several practices at once.

However, the watchdog found no evidence of fraud and noted the board was dealing with significant pressure in general practice, including vacant contracts and limited interest from other bidders.

The report said weaknesses in governance and scrutiny contributed to later disruption and uncertainty for patients and staff when problems emerged.

Concerns included financial and workforce pressures, unpaid invoices, and issues relating to tax and pension payments. Some contracts were later handed back, requiring the health board to step in to protect services.

Natasha Asghar MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Minister for Health and Social Care, said the findings were “deeply concerning”.

She said: “Patients and staff were left facing disruption and uncertainty because proper scrutiny was not carried out before these contracts were awarded.

“The Welsh Conservatives believe lessons must be learned to ensure robust checks are in place, protect frontline services and restore confidence in primary care across Wales.”

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board accepted the recommendations and said it had already strengthened its processes.

Audit Wales said the case highlighted the need for stronger checks before GP contracts are transferred, particularly when a single partnership is taking on multiple practices in a short period.