News

Recruitment policy plays with patient safety

Published

11 years ago

January 23, 2015

IN A hard-hitting interview with The Pembrokeshire Herald, a veteran health campaigner has revealed that the

Unable to cope: Glangwili Hospital

Board’s recruitment policy runs the risk of putting patients at risk as additional duties are placed on already overstretched staff. Retired surgeon, Peter Milewski calls the Board’s approach a “disestablishment policy” and said that services have been “pared to the bone.” He reveals that the Board deliberately delays recruitment, even when it knows well in advance of future vacancies. Last week, The Herald wrote about the way in which Glangwili Hospital is unable to cope with the influx of patients from Pembrokeshire. In the second of our two-part report on how local health services are coping with change, we turn to how staff at Withybush are coping with the strain.

In 2010, the health board introduced a formal policy that no vacancy was to be filled without jumping through lots of hoops. In practice the Board’s recruitment policy was found regularly to result in about six months’ delay, as shown by the gross delay this year in replacing Dr Anne Barnes MBE, with the result Dr Barnes had to come out of retirement to ‘hold the fort’ for inpatient cancer care. No advertisement was placed to replace Dr Barnes until after her departure, which was closely followed by the departure of the only remaining specialist doctor located permanently at Withybush. Health campaigner Peter Milewski told us: “I don’t know if the ‘disestablishment policy’ is still being applied across Withybush, but just before I spoke with you I heard that – certainly in theatre – people who leave are not being replaced, or if they are, only after a long interval.

“The Board even produced a flowchart showing all the stages to be followed before a recruitment advert could be placed.” Peter Milewski continued: “If, say, 50 posts a year have been managed like this for four years, and the result in each case is a delay of six months, how much money has been saved? Let’s say the relevant incomes were, as a conservative estimate, £15,000 – then you’re talking about 200×7500 = £1.5 million saved in four years. “Of course, it could be a great deal more than that. The saving on a consultant post, for example, would be £40-50k in six months. I think my own post wasn’t filled after I retired for about a year.” Meanwhile the remaining staff – already pared to the bone – have been placed under great stress.

The Herald understands that there are many examples of the stress under which frontline staff are working. One nurse has left a surgical ward saying she is so overworked that she is worried she will make a mistake and lose her registration. Theatre nurses are routinely told to work on the wards at night, though many of the more experienced ones have lost their familiarity with ward work. We asked Mr Milewski about these incidents and he confirmed that he had heard similar complaints from nursing staff: “One experienced nurse recently complained to the Nursing Council about this, and named those at the hospital who were ordering her to go to the wards. Another experienced theatre nurse has previously launched a grievance process about being ordered to work on Intensive Care when she had no intensive care skills, which would put her in a vulnerable position.

“The Nursing Council advice on this, I understand, is quite clear. That is, you should not undertake work for which you are not fully qualified.” Peter expressed his personal concern that if and when things do go wrong, it will be staff who take the blame: “I have become more and more convinced over the last few years that the basic strategy is to squeeze the system till it squeaks. When it squeaks is when mishaps occur. But they don’t care because those mishaps can nearly always be attributed to human error, and not systemic failure. “There is no acknowledgment that what they are doing increases the chance of human error. “The only thing that can then reverse the situation is if the failings are as grotesque as at Stafford in England: only then does an inquiry identify the link between system and humans.”

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

5 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string of alleged offences including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, 40, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, faces six linked charges arising from incidents reported to have taken place earlier this year. Alcock, who did not enter pleas during the administrative hearings, appeared on several occasions as the court dealt with bail issues and case management.

Multiple assault allegations
The charges listed before magistrates include:
Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional strangulation
Common assault of a woman
Criminal damage relating to a domestic incident
Further assault allegations linked to the same complainant
A breach of bail conditions

The court heard that Alcock had previously been granted conditional bail. However, he was brought back before magistrates twice during the same reporting period for alleged breaches of those conditions, resulting in updated bail decisions.

Bail breached — defendant remanded

On two separate entries in the court register, Alcock was listed as having breached his bail, leading magistrates to remand him into custody pending the next hearing. On other dates within the same week, he was again re-released on conditional bail, with strict terms imposed, including restrictions on contact with the complainant and exclusions from certain locations.

He is now remanded on conditional bail with his next appearance set for Swansea Crown Court, where the more serious matters — including the alleged non-fatal strangulation — will be dealt with.

Case sent to Crown Court

Magistrates directed that the case is too serious to be heard locally and must proceed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence.

The Herald understands that all listed charges fall under the same prosecution reference, indicating they form part of a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution. No further details were opened in court at this stage.

Crime

Rogue roofer conned homeowner out of thousands

Published

22 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Caerphilly investigation leads to court conviction

A ROGUE trader from Pembroke has been ordered to pay more than £6,000 after duping a homeowner into handing over thousands for unnecessary roofing work.

Douggie Whitbread, aged twenty-five and living at Coldwell Terrace, Pembroke, persuaded his victim that he “probably needed a new roof” before charging £4,350 for work that was either unnecessary or not carried out properly.

Whitbread admitted two counts of fraud relating to a property on Griffiths Street, Ystrad Mynach, with the offences taking place between August 12 and October 16, 2023.

He appeared before Cwmbran Magistrates’ Court, where he was ordered to pay a total of £6,130. That includes £4,350 in compensation, £1,500 in prosecution costs, a £200 fine, and an £80 victim surcharge.

The case was brought following an investigation by Caerphilly Trading Standards, who urged residents to be cautious of unsolicited offers of home maintenance work.

News

South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association – Week Twelve results

Published

40 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Herald Sport

A PACKET week of fixtures in the South Pembrokeshire Short Mat Bowls Association’s Friendly League saw key wins at both ends of the table as teams continue to jostle for position going into the second half of the season.

Match results (Week 12):

Hundleton 10–0 Lamphey
Badgers 2–8 St Johns
Reynalton 0–10 Carew
Kilgetty 8–2 East Williamston
Cosheston v Llanteg – postponed
St Twynnells – bye week

A previously postponed fixture was also completed, with St Twynnells drawing 5–5 with Reynaltón.

League table (after Week 12):
East Williamston remain top, having played 10 and won eight, with a strong shots difference of +125. Reynaltón sit second after 11 games with 58 points, while St Johns and Hundleton follow closely behind on 54 points each.

At the mid-table mark, Carew (49 points), St Twynnells (48) and Kilgetty (46) remain tightly grouped. Badgers, Lamphey, Llanteg and Cosheston make up the lower order, though the number of games played varies, leaving room for movement in the coming weeks.

Full standings:

Team	P	W	D	L	S/D	Points
East Williamston	10	8	0	2	+125	72
Reynaltón	11	5	2	4	+35	58
St Johns	10	5	1	4	+32	54
Hundleton	10	5	1	4	-2	54
Carew	9	5	0	4	-25	49
St Twynnells	10	4	2	4	-34	48
Kilgetty	11	5	0	6	-44	46
Badgers	11	3	1	7	-59	45
Lamphey	11	5	0	6	-10	44
Llanteg	8	4	0	4	-5	41
Cosheston	9	3	1	5	-13	40