HYWEL DDA University Health Board has today announced the appointment of Sharon Daniel as its new Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Care.

Sharon has held the role of Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience at the health board on an interim basis since January 2024, pending the appointment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer.

A well-known and well-respected leader within the organisation, Sharon brings a wealth of experience to the role, having dedicated her entire professional career to healthcare in the Hywel Dda region. Her journey spans clinical, academic and managerial roles — from her early days as an adult nurse to positions in site management, lecturing, infection prevention and control, clinical governance, and general management.

Since 2015, Sharon has served as Assistant Director of Nursing, working across areas including infection prevention and control, professional standards and regulation. She stepped into the role of Deputy Director of Nursing in May 2023 and was appointed interim Director of Nursing in early 2024. Her appointment to the permanent position recognises her leadership and deep commitment to the local population and workforce.

Professor Phil Kloer, Hywel Dda University Health Board Chief Executive, commented:

“Sharon has demonstrated outstanding commitment and leadership throughout her career with Hywel Dda. Her passion for nursing, deep knowledge of our services, and genuine connection to the people we serve make her an exceptional choice for this role. I am delighted to announce her appointment, following a competitive and open process, and look forward to continuing to work alongside her as we drive forward our ambitions for high-quality, compassionate care.”

Speaking on her appointment, Sharon said: “Hywel Dda is home to me. My family and I are part of the population, and I have worked within healthcare here since I finished my formal training.

“I’m incredibly proud to lead such a dedicated and passionate nursing workforce and I’m excited to work with colleagues to celebrate our achievements and build on them as we look to the future. Together, we’ll explore opportunities for interprofessional team working to help deliver our clinical strategy and the very best care for our communities.”

Sharon’s appointment marks a significant step forward in the Health Board’s ongoing commitment to strengthening professional leadership and improving outcomes for patients and communities across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire.

Swyddfa’r Cyfryngau | Media Office
Cyfathrebu | Communications 
Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Hywel Dda | Hywel Dda University Health Board
mediaoffice.hyweldda@wales.nhs.uk

SENEDD Members urged the UK Government to speed up compensation payments to people infected and affected by the contaminated blood scandal.

Labour’s Julie Morgan, who has campaigned on the issue for three decades, pointed out that nearly a year has passed since Sir Brian Langstaff published his damning final inquiry report.

More than 30,000 people in the UK were infected with HIV and hepatitis C after receiving contaminated blood products in the 1970s and 1980s.

Ms Morgan welcomed £11.8bn set aside by the UK Government but warned of “completely unacceptable” delays in issuing compensation to victims.

She told the Senedd: “But I can’t support the way in which the setting up of the compensation framework, and the Infected Blood Compensation Authority, has caused significant delays, and the delays in registering for the affected.”

Ms Morgan said two people die every week while awaiting compensation and 25 infected or affected people known to Haemophilia Wales have died since the inquiry began.

The former minister warned: “I’ve been told that the compensation tariffs are so complex that it’s extremely difficult to gauge who will be eligible. However, Haemophilia Wales estimates that there’ll be around 300 infected and affected entitled to compensation in Wales.”

She added: “I’ve also heard there have been rejections of transfusion estate applications due to the destruction of medical records held at the University Hospital of Wales.”

Stressing the practical impact of delays, she explained that if an affected person, such as a widow, dies the claim to compensation dies with them unlike with an infected person.

Ms Morgan said those infected and affected, some of whom gathered on the Senedd’s steps before the debate, have been fighting for justice for 40 years.

During topical questions on April 2, she told the debating chamber: “I think it’s up to us in this Senedd to do all we possibly can to urge the UK Government, and say, ‘Look, just get on with it, it’s just been far too long.’ This has been going on for years and years.”

James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, added his voice to a chorus of calls to increase the pace of compensation payments.

As did his Plaid Cymru counterpart Mabon ap Gwynfor who said: “Some patients’ families who have been in contact with me believe that the matter is being dragged out and that it’s intentional on the part of the government … to avoid paying out the compensation.”

Labour’s Hefin David, who represents Caerphilly, similarly raised the case of a constituent, echoing concerns the compensation scheme may unfairly discriminate against spouses and partners.

Rhun ap Iorwerth, who chairs the Senedd cross-party group on haemophilia and infected blood, urged Welsh ministers to press the case for compensation.

The Plaid Cymru leader quoted a constituent: “The government line is to meet its legal responsibilities as slowly as possible, in the hope we will all die soon and stop bothering them. We feel we are again being bullied by those in power, adding insult to severe injury.

“The situation cannot go on. The 4,000 or so infected victims must be compensated immediately so they can put the past behind them and enjoy the time they have left.”

Jeremy Miles, who was appointed Wales’ health secretary in September, said officials continue to press the UK Government on the need for timely compensation payments.

Mr Miles explained that the Infected Blood Compensation Authority is recruiting hundreds of claim managers who will prioritise claims for those nearing the end of their life.

Urged to make people’s frustration and anger known, he said: “The strength of feeling in the chamber is clear … it’s important to have a set of arrangements that can command confidence, so I’d be very happy to put the points to the UK Government in those terms.”

Woman from Pembrokeshire in campaign to raise awareness

A NEW campaign has been launched to reverse a worrying decline in family consent rates for organ donation in Wales—now the lowest in the UK.

Just five years ago, Wales had the highest consent rate in Britain. Today, it lags behind all other UK nations, with a 56% consent rate—down from 77% in 2018/19—despite having pioneered a “presumed consent” law in 2015.

Under that system, unless individuals opt out via the NHS Organ Donor Register, they are presumed to have agreed to donate their organs after death. But transplant specialists say the law may have had an unintended consequence: fewer families are talking about donation.

“Many people think presumed consent means everything is sorted, so they don’t have the conversation,” said Bethan Moss, a specialist nurse in Wales. “But families are always asked to confirm, and if they’re unsure, they often say no.”

The new campaign—The Best Thing You’ll Do Today—encourages people to both sign the register and speak with their loved ones.

“It’s about peace of mind,” Moss added. “If families know what their relative wanted, they’re far more likely to agree.”

More than 1.3 million people in Wales have declared their willingness to donate organs since the register began in 1994. Over 10,000 patients in Wales have received life-saving transplants. But the lack of conversation is proving deadly.

Across the UK, consent rates are falling, but the drop in Wales is steepest. Current family consent rates are 60% in England, 61% in Scotland, and 66% in Northern Ireland.

“Talking is key,” said Joanna Chalker, a senior nurse with NHS Blood and Transplant who has worked in Wales for 16 years. “When someone has signed the register or told their family, the consent rate jumps to 90%. That can mean the difference between life and death.”

One of those lives saved was 35-year-old Pembrokeshire mum Jessica (pictured), who was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cholangitis—a rare liver condition—in 2016. After two false alarms, she finally received a successful transplant in 2022.

“I’d always been healthy, so the diagnosis was a shock,” she said. “But I was ready. Now I’m walking the kids to school again and loving life. Organ donation gave me everything back.”

Every day in the UK, someone dies waiting for a transplant. Right now, around 8,000 people—including over 200 children—are on the waiting list. A single donor can help up to nine people.

To register your decision or find out more, visit:
www.organdonation.nhs.uk/register-your-decision