News
Hywel Dda responsible for 40% of overspend by health boards
HYWEL DDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD is responsible for more than 40% of the total overspend by Welsh health boards, it has been revealed.
By the end of this financial year, a total of £163m will have been overspent, according to a BBC Wales analysis.
Of that sum, £69.6m will have been overspent by Hywel Dda.
The huge figure is an increase of 40% from last year, with an overspend of just under £50m.
The total health board deficit figures are:
- Hywel Dda Health Board (West Wales) – £69.6m
- Betsi Cadwaldr University Health Board (North Wales) – £36m
- Abertawe Bro Morgannwg (South West Wales) – £30m
- Cardiff and Vale (South Wales) – £26.9m
The amount spent on temporary doctors and nurses at Hywel Dda hospitals, due to ongoing recruitment problems, is largely to blame.
Hywel Dda said in their latest financial report that their savings had been ‘the best so far’ this year, however this had been countered by ‘local cost pressures’.
Health Secretary Vaughan Gething said that if the health boards were overspending they would not be ‘bailed out’ by the Welsh Government.
The Welsh NHS was also warned that it was facing ‘the most financially challenging period in its history’.
A spokesperson for The Welsh Government said that it was increasing NHS budget above what had been recommended.
They said: “Investment in our NHS is at a record high and Wales already spends considerably more on health and social care per head than in England.
“We are also investing an additional £550m over the next two years, including £100m to help transform the way health and social services are delivered.”
Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Secretary, Angela Burns AM, said: “These soaring deficits show a health service in Wales which is teetering on the brink of financial abyss.
“Failures by the Welsh Labour Government to initiate long-term planning measures for health boards and to break the culture of waste and inefficiency have all played their part in the mess our NHS now finds itself in.
“From Hywel Dda to Betsi Cadwaladr – which is in special measures and under direct Welsh Government control – the situation across Wales is getting worse and worse.
“There is a real risk that health boards will soon be forced to cut vital services in order to make savings, and it’s patients and staff who will be left paying the price.
“This once again raises very serious questions for Labour’s Health Secretary who seems to have run out of ideas and has promised not to bail out health boards.
“To avoid any further damage to services and public confidence in them, Vaughan Gething needs to instigate swift root-and-branch reforms of the health service focused on better planning, smarter spending and stronger public health messaging.”
Crime
Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident
A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.
Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.
The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:
- Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
- Common assault
- Assault by beating
No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.
Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.
Crime
Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges
Defendant remanded in custody
A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.
David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
- A second count of assault
- Criminal damage
- An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
- A public order offence
Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.
Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”
A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.
The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.
Crime
Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults
Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing
A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.
Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.
During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.
Charges Include:
- Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
- Intentional non-fatal strangulation
- Common assault on a woman
- Criminal damage in a domestic context
- Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
- Breach of bail conditions
Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.
Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.
No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.
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