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Health Secretary visits Withybush following £3m funding announcement

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Welcomed: The staff were delighted with the funding news

HEALTH SECRETARY, Vaughan Gething, announced today (Apr 12) that £3m funding will be provided to modernise haematology, oncology and palliative care services at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest.

To accompany the news, he also visited Withybush Hospital this morning.

The funding will enable the hospital’s existing Ward 10 to be modernised to improve safety, clinical quality and provide a better environment for patients and staff. The former Ward 9 area will also be developed to serve as a ward area to allow Ward 10 patients to be cared for while the building works are carried out on the existing Ward 10, which will close for refurbishment.

The local community in Pembrokeshire has played a significant part in helping to raise funds to improve these facilities with over £450,000 being raised to date by the Health Board’s Pembrokeshire Cancer Services Fund and Elly’s Ward 10 Flag Appeal.

Vaughan Gething: At Withybush Hospital

Health Secretary, Vaughan Gething said: “I am very happy to able to announce the £3.15m funding to complete the improvements to Wards 9 and 10 at Withybush Hospital. This project will transform these services at the hospital to provide a modern fit-for-purpose environment for staff, patients and their families. It was a pleasure to meet with staff and the Neville family today. Elly’s fundraising efforts have been truly inspirational and the new facility will be a tribute to her hard work and dedication.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board Chair, Bernardine Rees OBE, said: “This is fantastic news for Pembrokeshire. I wish to pay tribute to our staff, fundraisers and partners, for their part in reaching this milestone in the project, particularly Elly’s Ward 10 Flag Appeal. We look forward to moving forward at pace now to make these improvements for our local population.”

Lyn Neville, Elly’s father, said: “On behalf of Elly’s Ward 10 Flag Appeal we are very pleased that the funding has been given for Ward 10 which will be another step towards providing excellent cancer services for Pembrokeshire. On a personal note after many years of campaigning for Ward 10 I am also very pleased that, as seen with the new Pembrokeshire Haematology & Oncology Day Unit (PHODU), patients and staff will be able to receive and deliver care in excellent new facilities.”

Ward 10 Flag Appeal: Elly Neville with Vaughan Gething

Work is expected to start shortly and be completed by the summer of 2019.

The new Ward 10 configuration will provide:

  • 18 beds (of which 5 will be ensuite) in a superior ward environment. The single rooms will be used for patients requiring isolation facilities or greater privacy during their care.
  • A dedicated day room for patients to socialise, receive rehabilitation, relax and have their meals.
  • Improved overnight facilities for relatives including a dedicated relatives room.
  • A discharge lounge to serve Ward 10 along with the hospital’s other medical wards.

The Ward 9 refurbishment element of the project will provide:

  • A sub-pharmacy area.
  • Treatment and clinical support functions.
  • A decant facility for Ward 10 whilst its building works are undertaken including 14 beds, 5 of which would be single-bedded ensuites (2 of these would be bariatric styled facilities) and a day room facility.

News

Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Business

Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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