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New health minister unveils plan to cut NHS waiting times in Wales

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UP TO ten new surgical and diagnostic hubs are to be developed across Wales as part of new plans to cut NHS waiting times and ease pressure on hospitals.

Wales’ new Health Minister, Mabon ap Gwynfor, has set out a programme aimed at reducing delays, recruiting more GPs, expanding community care and moving more treatment out of hospitals.

The Welsh Government says the new hubs will be developed over the next four years to increase NHS capacity and speed up diagnosis and treatment.

Two-year waits are due to be eliminated within months, with the overall backlog reduced to pre-pandemic levels before the end of the current Senedd term.

The plans also include recruiting up to 100 new salaried GPs and expanding access to out-of-hours primary care, in an effort to reduce pressure on hospital services.

Community care is also set to be expanded, with stronger discharge planning intended to help patients leave hospital sooner and receive more support at home.

A ten-year Digital and Data Strategy will be introduced to modernise NHS infrastructure, while a long-term workforce strategy is expected to be published this autumn.

The Welsh Government also said organisations would be brought together for a summit to consider support for this year’s nursing, midwifery and paramedic graduates, following concerns over a shortage of available posts.

Mr ap Gwynfor said: “Having to wait years for treatment, with all the pain and anxiety that entails, is an intolerable reality for far too many people in Wales.

“With urgency, decisive action and ambition, we will protect the NHS and build a healthier, fairer Wales — with a health and care system that puts people first and delivers the change our nation needs.”

 

Crime

Man accused of six rapes including alleged Haverfordwest offence

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A MAN has been sent to Crown Court accused of six rapes, including an alleged offence at a Haverfordwest campsite.

Michael Harris, 37, of Bow Street Village, appeared before Aberystwyth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (Jun 10).

Harris is charged with six offences of rape of a woman aged 16 or over, contrary to section one of the Sexual Offences Act 2003.

The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2015 and 2025 at locations including Perthog, Bow Street, and the Rising Sun Campsite in Haverfordwest.

No pleas were entered during the hearing.

Harris was sent to Swansea Crown Court, where he is due to appear for a plea and trial preparation hearing on Friday, July 10.

He was remanded on conditional bail.

The court imposed conditions including that Harris must not enter specified addresses in the Aberystwyth and Bow Street areas, and must not contact named individuals directly or indirectly, including through social media.

The case was sent to the Crown Court under section 51 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The complainant in the case has automatic lifetime anonymity under the Sexual Offences Amendment Act 1992.

 

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Pembrokeshire residents asked to help shape ten-year tourism vision

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Visit Pembrokeshire says the county-wide survey will help decide future priorities for the visitor economy

PEMBROKESHIRE residents, businesses, community groups and visitors are being invited to have their say on the future of tourism in the county.

Visit Pembrokeshire has launched a new community engagement survey called Pembrokeshire, Our Future, Our Opportunity, aimed at helping shape a ten-year vision for the county’s visitor economy.

The survey, which launched during the week commencing Monday (June 8), is open to residents, businesses, organisations, students, partners and visitors.

It comes as Pembrokeshire continues to balance the benefits of tourism with wider concerns around housing, infrastructure, seasonal pressure, jobs, transport, the environment and the future of local communities.

Visit Pembrokeshire says the results will help inform long-term priorities and build on its existing Destination Management Plan for 2024-2028.

The survey takes around ten minutes to complete and is available in both English and Welsh.

Emma Thornton, Chief Executive Officer of Visit Pembrokeshire, said: “This is much more than a survey. It is an opportunity for the people of Pembrokeshire to help shape the future of the place they know, value and care deeply about.”

She said tourism supports jobs and businesses, while also helping sustain communities, culture and the environment.

Neil Kedward, Chair of Visit Pembrokeshire, said the county’s future was something “we all have a stake in”.

He added that the engagement exercise was about understanding what success looks like from the perspective of communities and businesses.

The survey will close on Friday, August 21.

It can be completed at: https://forms.office.com/e/WpwPtgwDDW

 

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Health

Corridor care data should be published in Wales, says nursing union

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RCN Wales says patients are being left in chairs and hospital corridors for hours as England begins releasing national figures

WALES is being urged to begin publishing hospital corridor care data after England released its first national figures exposing the scale of patients being treated in inappropriate spaces.

RCN Wales said the Welsh Government cannot properly tackle unsafe care if it is not routinely measured or publicly reported.

The call follows the publication of corridor care data by NHS England, which RCN Wales said provides a clearer picture of the scale of the issue in English hospitals for the first time.

The union is calling for the Welsh Government to publish monthly corridor care data by health board, agree a national data set, and release the first figures as soon as possible.

‘Unsafe and unacceptable’

Nicola Williams, Executive Director of RCN Wales, said: “Today’s publication of corridor care data in England demonstrates why transparency matters. We cannot tackle a problem we do not fully understand and are not measuring.

“Corridor care is unsafe, undignified and unacceptable. Nurses across Wales have repeatedly raised concerns about patients being treated in inappropriate spaces because of pressures on the health and care system.”

Ms Williams said she had recently visited a number of hospitals in Wales where she saw patients in chairs, on trolleys in corridors, and squeezed into overcrowded areas not designed for patient care.

She said some patients had been there for well over 12 hours.

She added: “There was one consistent feature which was the look of fear in patients’ eyes as they watched the continual movement and activity going on loudly in very close proximity to them.

“These patients were mainly in gowns with no privacy, no dignity, no space and no confidentiality.”

‘Now normalised’

RCN Wales said nurses had reported that corridor care had become normalised in some hospital settings.

Ms Williams said staff were going home after shifts knowing they had not been able to give patients the care they deserved.

She said: “Nurses told me this is now normalised, happens every day and staff cannot care adequately for patients, which is causing harm and distress to patients, and significantly affecting nurses’ morale.”

In the Senedd on Tuesday (June 2), Health and Care Cabinet Secretary Mabon ap Gwynfor described corridor care as an unsafe practice and said tackling it was a priority.

RCN Wales said it welcomed that recognition but said the next step must be proper measurement and public reporting.

Ms Williams said: “Without consistent national and organisation-wide data, it is impossible to establish the true scale of the problem, identify trends, target resources effectively or measure progress over time.”

Call for national reviews

RCN Wales is also calling for the publication of two national reviews into healthcare capacity, alongside policy recommendations for action.

The union said understanding the relationship between capacity pressures and corridor care would be essential if the practice was to be eliminated.

Ms Williams added: “This is not about collecting statistics for their own sake. It is about establishing a baseline against which improvement can be measured and ensuring accountability for delivering safer care for patients.

“Nursing staff have been warning about the dangers of corridor care for years. Patients deserve care delivered in safe and appropriate clinical environments, and staff deserve the resources and capacity needed to provide it.

“The publication of data in England is an important step. Wales must now follow suit and ensure we have the evidence needed to eradicate corridor care for good.”

 

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