News

Patients in danger as ambulance response times fail to meet targets

Published

11 years ago

September 6, 2013

Plaid Cymru issued a press release this week suggesting that Pembrokeshire’s ambulance emergency response times are failing to meet their set target.

The Party claim that the response times to calls in Pembrokeshire missed the all-Wales target: that of of an ambulance reaching the scene of an incident within eight minutes of an emergency call being placed. Plaid Cymru claim that in July of this year, in Pembrokeshire, only 64.8% of life threatening calls were answered within the target eight minutes timeframe, from an all -Wales target of 65%, falling short by point two of a percent.

According to analysis by Plaid Cymru’s National Assembly team, it was discovered that only seven out of the twenty-two local authorities reached their target for more than nine months out of the last eighteen and, apparently, Pembrokeshire only just managed to meet this success rate, but performance has, as Plaid Cymru put it, ‘deteriorated worryingly this year’.

Plaid Cymru Mid and West AM Simon Thomas said of these apparently alarming figures,

“It is not surprising that the Welsh Ambulance Service is not meeting its targets. What is concerning is that there seems to be little improvement. Many of us wonder why the Welsh (Labour) Government continues to push through their plans to centralise hospital services that will require ambulances to travel further in emergency situations”

He went on to add that,

“The Health Minister must begin to tackle ambulance response times in Pembrokeshire. Plaid Cymru believes there should be better investment in planning and training of the workforce. If this happened more paramedics could make decisions and carry out treatment without the need for hospital”.

Commenting on this seemingly worrying situation, Paul Davies, AM for Preseli Pembrokeshire, said,

“The latest ambulance emergency response times for Pembrokeshire are very worrying. NHS staff work tirelessly but, sadly, Welsh Labour’s record-breaking cuts to the health budget of over £800million, in real terms, over five years are making their jobs impossible. Confidence in our health service is already at rock-bottom, and none of this will do anything to ease the worries of the people of Pembrokeshire”.

He concluded by stating that,

“It’s now time for serious change. The closure of the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush Hospital would have a seriously detrimental effect on other services, such as paediatrics, A and E and, of course, the ambulance service. Labour’s Health Minister has talked of some action, following the latest ambulance service review. I will be monitoring this action to make sure the changes are effective for my constituents and implemented as soon as possible.”

A Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust spokesperson said of the perceived problem,

“Due to the increase in calls that we experience year on year we are actually reaching more and more people across Wales than ever before. July was an extremely busy month for us, with the service taking 36,964 emergency calls, up by 3,093 calls from the previous month, and 1,149 calls from the same period last year, with more than a third of these – 14,254 calls – being the most serious in nature. We recognise that we are short of the target for these most serious calls and are continuing to work with our Health Board colleagues to improve the situation. We would like to reassure the public that the Trust is firmly committed to delivering the improvement aims of its ‘Working Together for Success’ modernisation programme. We are working, and will continue to work, as hard as we can to get to patients as quickly as possible and provide the best quality of care for the people of Wales and we invite the public to support NHS Wales’ ‘Choose Well’ campaign, so that busy emergency services can help those who need them most urgently. We also ask the public only to dial 999 and attend emergency departments for life-threatening and serious illnesses and injuries – remember to keep emergency ambulances for your emergencies.”

When contacted by The Herald, the Welsh Government Press office responded to these criticisms and statistics by issuing a statement saying that,

“The McClelland Review of Welsh Ambulance Services made it very clear that our current eight minute target is only very weakly supported by clinical evidence. Work is underway to develop a new set of clinical indicators that provide a better view of the quality of ambulance provision in Wales, and these will be in place by April 2014. We are encouraged to note, though, that in Pembrokeshire 69% of ambulances arrived at scene to calls categorised as life threatening within nine minutes and 83.2% in thirteen minutes. We expect Local Health Boards to work closely with the ambulance service to improve service delivery, to ensure the people of Wales receive the high quality care they deserve.”

News

Fire fighters respond to dangerous structure incident in Johnston

Published

4 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Tom Sinclair

AT 8:28am on Friday (Jan 24), a crew from Haverfordwest Fire Station responded to a dangerous structure incident on Vine Road, Johnston.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service were called to address roof ridge tiles hanging precariously from a two-storey domestic property over a public pavement.

A full road closure was implemented while firefighters used a turntable ladder to safely remove the tiles and secure the area.

The pavement and road have since reopened. The crew left the scene at 9:28am.

News

County councillor warns of dangerous and illegal E-scooter use in Haverfordwest

Published

5 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A COUNTY councillor in Haverfordwest has raised concerns about the dangerous actions of individuals using e-scooters in the town centre. Cllr David Bryan says that complaints from residents about the misuse of these devices have become a daily occurrence, highlighting the risks posed to pedestrians and road users alike.

According to Cllr Bryan, riders—both youngsters and adults—have been observed engaging in reckless behaviour, such as riding against the flow of traffic on one-way streets like High Street and Quay Street, as well as using pedestrian areas and pavements on Bridge Street and Riverside. Such actions put vulnerable residents, particularly older people and those who are hard of hearing, at significant risk.

“E-scooters ridden in pedestrian areas, on pavements, and against the flow of road traffic are not only dangerous but are also illegal,” the councillor said. “The only lawful way to use an e-scooter is on private land with the landowner’s permission.”

The councillor also criticised retailers for failing to adequately inform customers about the legal restrictions surrounding e-scooters at the point of purchase. “The lack of responsibility by sellers is extremely poor,” they added.

Police crackdown on E-Scooter misuse

Dyfed-Powys Police are conducting an operation to tackle the issue. Efforts include educating riders through school visits and other outreach initiatives, as well as seizing and impounding e-scooters that are being ridden illegally in public spaces.

Residents are urged to report instances of illegal e-scooter use by calling 101, providing details such as location and time to assist police investigations. CCTV footage may then be used to identify offenders.

Cllr Bryan concluded: “By working together, we can address this anti-social behaviour and make our town centre safer for everyone.”

News

Consultation launched on changes to Library Service

Published

5 hours ago

January 24, 2025

Tom Sinclair

PEMBROKESHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL has launched a consultation about proposed changes to the Library Service.

The public is asked for feedback on proposed changes to Milford Haven, Pembroke and Pembroke Dock Libraries.

Following a Library Needs Assessment last summer which asked the public about their library needs and about ways to reduce running costs as part of Council-wide savings requirements, it became clear that respondents did not support closing libraries, replacing staff with 24/7 access technology or reducing the book fund.

More support was given to reducing costs by co-locating or downsizing libraries, working with volunteers or reducing opening hours.

Working on the basis of a potential 20% savings requirement for the Library Service, the following changes are proposed:

Milford Haven Library: either to relocate the library to a smaller/cheaper premises or establish a Community Managed Partnership at the current library.

A Public Meeting will be held on Monday 3^rd February 2025, starting at 6.30pm at Milford Haven Library to outline how the option to establish a Community Managed partnership would work. All are welcome to attend.

Pembroke Library: the proposal is to reduce opening hours by eight hours per week.
Pembroke Dock Library: the proposal is to reduce opening hours by seven hours per week. We are also looking at options to share the library space with a third-party to reduce premises costs.

To take part in the consultations, please follow the links below.

Customers often use more than one library, so please feel free to take part in any / all of the surveys.

Paper copies of the consultations are available at each of the three libraries.

The paper surveys will remain in place until 5pm, on 17th February 2025, when the consultations will close.

The online survey will also close at the same time.

Should the Library Service savings requirement go up or down from 20% following the Council budget meeting on February 20th, a fresh consultation in relation to any additional or different proposals for change will be made.

Cllr Rhys Sinnett, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said: “The Library Needs Assessment last year has helped shape the current proposals in a way that avoids library closures and some of the other negative impacts that the respondents told us they were against.

“Given the difficult financial situation impacting the Council we have tried to create proposals that strike a balance that continues to providing a much loved library service while also providing savings.

“Please take the time to fill in the surveys and provide feedback on the proposals ahead of decisions being taken.

“For those who use Milford Haven Library please also take up the opportunity to attend the public meeting on Monday 3^rd February 2025, at 6.30pm.”