News

Withybush: Special care baby unit to close

Published

11 years ago

January 21, 2014

IT HAS BEEN announced today that the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush hospital, Haverfordwest will close, but consultant led services will remain at the hospital until such time as midwife led service is ready to be deployed.

Health Minister for Wales, Mark Drakeford: “Essential factor is that a mother should be able to make an informed decision on the place of birth. These changes will mean that the majority of services will be continued to be provided locally by their GP and hospital as they are now. Women can continue to safely have their deliveries at the midwife led units.” He continued: “I endorse the new service model”

Commenting on the statement from the welsh Labour Government on the future of level 2 neonatal services in the Hywel Dda Health Board area in West Wales, Paul Davies, Assembly Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire, said:

“This decision represents a bleak day for the people of Pembrokeshire who have campaigned and fought tirelessly to protect lifesaving baby services at Withybush Hospital.

“This decision is dangerous and in immediately life-threatening cases, could pose severe harm to mothers and babies and Welsh Labour Ministers carry a heavy responsibility in pursuing this centralising agenda.

“Expectant mothers must be confident in the knowledge that services are fit for purpose and that care for sick and vulnerable babies will be available if the worst happens.

“Travelling any distance lessens survival chances and in a rural area like Pembrokeshire, reaching medical attention within the golden hour can make the difference between life and death.

“We need to hear a cast iron guarantee from Labour Ministers that there will be no reduction in paediatrics or other services at Withybush Hospital as a result of this downgrade.

“Many patients will see this closure as a financial decision, perhaps resulting from Labour’s legacy of record-breaking NHS cuts.”

Angela Burns, Assembly Member for Carmarthen West & South Pembrokeshire, said, “Trust and safety are the two most important things for any new mother and baby when they are in a healthcare environment.

“We need a clear undertaking from the Welsh Government that Labour Ministers will keep a close watch on neonatal care in West Wales for the security of patients.

“Many patients fear that Hywel Dda Health Board is trigger happy when it comes to closing services, but not quick enough in getting alternative proposals in place or recruiting staff to properly resources those services.

“It is critical that safety nets are in place before any closures to give campaigners and families confidence that the best interests of mothers and babies are the overriding priority in devising neonatal care provision.

“Labour Ministers must now assure patients in Pembrokeshire that this is not a slippery slope towards the further loss of services at Withybush Hospital.”

Paul Davies AM said “Today is a bleak day for the people of Pembrokeshire. The minister has made it clear that he will close the SCBU at Withybush, and this will put lives at risk. This decision has been taken without geographical considerations being taken into account. The WAG needs to take into consideration transfer times and transport. Pembrokeshire has challenging transport links, and if critical services are not based in Pembrokeshire then it is unlikely that people will be able to access critical services within one hour. New centralised baby unit will cost over £12,000,000 to set up.”

Mark Drakeford replied: “Should it be the case after 12 months that the new service level is unsafe then any sensible person would want to revisit that model. I am confident that Withybush hospital will continue as a hospital in West Wales and I only last week announced more capital investment in that hospital.”
Mark Drakeford, claims that while essential SCBU services are transferred, there will be a “safety net” and that work would be done on commissioning emergency transport arrangements.

Local AM, Paul Davies, asked why these arrangements were thought necessary now and not thought essential as part of the original planned service transfer.

Stephen Crabb MP told the Herald: “I am shocked and appalled at the decision by the Welsh Health Minister in Cardiff today to axe the unit which has helped save the lives of so many vulnerable mums and babies in our County.”

“This news is a cold and bitter blow to all the people across Pembrokeshire who have fought hard to save the Special Care Baby Unit. They will rightfully feel angry and deeply disappointed that their grave concerns have been ignored by the Minister. There can be no doubt that this decision will cause huge anxiety in the community. I fear that the closure of SCBU is the start of the wholesale downgrading that Welsh Government and the Health Board has been planning all along.”

“The argument that it all comes down to budget cuts is nonsense. The Labour Welsh Government was actually given extra money for health after the Coalition in Westminster ring-fenced health spending against cuts. Welsh Ministers then chose to go ahead and cut its health budget. Instead they have spent money on things like Cardiff Airport which cost the taxpayer in Wales £52 million.”

“As many Pembrokeshire people know, the Welsh Government has been trying desperately to move health services from Withybush Hospital since before 2005. The Labour Ministers in Cardiff need to wake up to reality and realise that centralising these vital services will put lives at risk in our rural communities. The next step in the campaign to save SCBU is through the courts and I fully support any such action. I will be providing any assistance I can to help overturn this decision.”

“This decision represents a bleak day for the people of Pembrokeshire who have campaigned and fought tirelessly to protect lifesaving baby services at Withybush Hospital.

“Expectant mothers must be confident in the knowledge that services are fit for purpose and that care for sick and vulnerable babies will be available if the worst happens.

“Travelling any distance lessens survival chances and in a rural area like Pembrokeshire, reaching medical attention within the golden hour can make the difference between life and death.

“We need to hear a cast iron guarantee from Labour Ministers that there will be no reduction in paediatrics or other services at Withybush Hospital as a result of this downgrade.

“Many patients will see this closure as a financial decision, perhaps resulting from Labour’s legacy of record-breaking NHS cuts.”

“We need a clear undertaking from the Welsh Government that Labour Ministers will keep a close watch on neonatal care in West Wales for the security of patients.

“Labour Ministers must now assure patients in Pembrokeshire that this is not a slippery slope towards the further loss of services at Withybush Hospital.”

Crime

Shoplifter stole beer and assaulted woman, court hears

Published

1 hour ago

September 14, 2024

Court Reporter

JOHN ASHBY, 37, of Laws Street in Pembroke Dock, has admitted to stealing crates of Stella Artois and assaulting a woman, Llanelli Magistrates’ Court heard.

Ashby faced four charges, including stealing five crates of Stella Artois worth £60 from Tesco Express in Tenby and two more boxes worth £25 from Iceland in Haverfordwest on August 19.

After being released on bail on August 19, he failed to surrender to bail on September 3. He was also charged with assault by beating, accused of attacking a woman in Pembroke Dock on September 4.

Ashby pleaded guilty to all charges on September 6. The case has been adjourned for a pre-sentence report, and he has been granted bail until his sentencing at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on September 24.

Crime

10-year-old sexually abused by another child in Carmarthenshire

Published

2 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

POLICE in Carmarthenshire have said that a A 10-year-old was sexually abused by another child at a playing field.

Officers were called after a report of sexual touching of a 10-year-old at Penygaer playing fields in Llanelli at 21:40 HRS on Wednesday (Sept 11).

Dyfed-Powys Police said the suspect was also believed to be a child and it was trying to identify them.

The force said its investigation was ongoing and urged people to be “mindful of what they are sharing online”.

Farming

MP calls for government-led campaign to halt rural population decline

Published

2 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Tom Sinclair

WALES should follow example of Western Australia in attracting doctors and nurses, says a local MP

Plaid Cymru MP for Ceredigion Preseli, Ben Lake, has said that Wales should follow the lead of regions like Western Australia in attracting workers to fill skill shortages in public services through promotional campaigns.

He warned that rural depopulation in Wales could lead to a “collapse of public services” without government intervention to retain young people in rural areas and attract workers from other parts of the world.

Western Australia launched a campaign last year targeting workers in the UK and Ireland, enticing them with promises of higher salaries, a better quality of life, and lower living costs. WA government minister Paul Papalia declared in the promotion, “We are here to steal your workers by offering them a better life in one of the most beautiful places on the planet.”

Ben Lake MP highlighted the “many benefits of rural living” in Wales and urged both the Welsh and UK governments to do more to attract key workers to rural communities. He noted that Ceredigion recorded a 5.9% decrease in its population in the last census, while Pembrokeshire’s population remained stagnant. The constituency is experiencing the “real consequences of depopulation,” including a shortage of GPs, the absence of NHS dental services in much of the region, school closures, and the lack of banking facilities.

Rural Wales will face a “collapse of public services” unless the Welsh Government, together with the UK Government, which holds all powers relating to immigration in Wales, take action to help attract workers.

Speaking in Westminster this week, Ben Lake MP said: “I represent Ceredigion Preseli. At the last census, Ceredigion—the majority of my constituency—recorded a 5.9% decrease in its overall population, and the communities in Preseli or Pembrokeshire that I now represent saw their population flatline. This is a problem that we are very much living with today. What does it mean? In practice, it means that we are having very difficult discussions about, for example, the provision of public services and whether the school estate is sustainable for the future. We are talking about the lack of GPs and the fact that we do not have an NHS dentist any more in much of the constituency. There are three well-known banks in the UK that no longer have a single branch in the two counties that I represent. This is the real consequence of depopulation.

He continued: “This is something that the UK Government can help with, and it should be on their radar. When the Cabinet Office looks at the range of risks it must monitor as part of its remit—something that the Public Accounts Committee discussed in the previous Parliament—it should look at how the discrepancies in demographic trends across these islands might have an impact on key public services, because in certain areas of rural Wales we will, I am afraid, see a collapse of public services. That will have a knock-on impact on more urban areas, which are themselves struggling with different demographic pressures.

“This is an important debate, and I would ask the Home Office Minister to consider, as part of her important work in this new Parliament, the lessons to be drawn from experiences across the world. My hon. Friend the Member for Perth and Kinross-shire (Pete Wishart, SNP) mentioned the experience of Quebec. As west Walians, we often turn on the radio to hear adverts from the Government of Western Australia trying to attract many of our young doctors and nurses to migrate to that part of the world. Are there incentives we could use to persuade more of our young people to stay or to attract those from other parts of the world? There are many benefits to rural living. Perhaps we could be more creative in grasping this problem by the scruff of the neck, because I fear we do not have much time left to deal with it.”