News

Life on the waiting list for medical treatment

Published

7 years ago

November 1, 2018

A PHOTOGRAPHER has spoken to The Herald about the effect delays in medical treatment have had on his quality of life and how the long wait for him to be treated has left him permanently disabled.

In the light of the WAO report on the gross delays in treatment suffered by those on waiting lists in Wales, we spoke to Mike Hillen about his experience of being stuck in limbo on a list.

Mike Hillen, a freelance photographer who contributes to this newspaper, never dreamt he would end up dependent on a mobility scooter and in adapted accommodation when he went to see his GP with swollen knees. He thought it was just the effects of his work on a window cleaning round.

About a fortnight later, Mike was alarmed to find the bottom of his right leg had become swollen and on Boxing Day 2014 went to Accident and Emergency. The staff were not sure whether he had Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT). Because of the Bank Holiday, he had to wait as an inpatient for an ultrasound scan.

Mike was told a baker’s cyst on the back of his knee had burst and caused the swelling. However, his pain continued and his knee and leg remained tender. His other leg also swelled and became painful.

Three months later, Mike had an MRI scan. The diagnosis was osteoarthritis in both knees and he was placed on the urgent list for a knee replacement.

‘Urgent’ implies the idea that an operation is imminently needed.

17 months later, Mike was given an appointment for a pre-op assessment. In the intervening period, Mike had become dependent on crutches and his mobility had decreased significantly.

With a clear pre-op assessment, Mike went in for his operation only for it to be cancelled when the surgeon decided the skin on his leg was too swollen and inflamed. He was then referred to a dermatologist, who referred him to a lymphedema clinic. When he attended the lymphedema clinic, he was told that his condition had been caused by the lengthy wait for the operation and his inability to keep the leg moving.

So he would be fit for the operation, Mike had intensive lymph-assist therapy and given a succession of creams to improve the condition of his leg’s skin.

In June 2017, Mike had to be rushed to hospital suffering from sepsis.

Over the following year, Mike’s long-term dependence on crutches to move around caused problems in his back.
It was December 2017 before he had his knee replacement.

It was too late to be of any practical benefit to him. By the time it came, Mike could no longer walk unassisted.

His back’s condition degenerated while he was dependent on crutches, leaving him with spinal stenosis – a narrowing of the spinal canal resulting in pressure on the spinal nerves and severe pain. By the time he had one knee replaced, the other had degenerated to the point at which it needs replacement. Because of the back pain, he wondering if it’s worth it.

Mike and his wife, Lou.

Mike wife Lou told us: “What is worst for him is he can’t do his window cleaning round he had built up and had to give up. He also gave up on being able to finish the coast path after walking 3/4 of it.

“He is now dependent on me to drive him around and to do things for him he enjoyed doing before. I have to apply the creams to ease the swelling in his legs.

“We are now almost 4 years on from the start of this and not much further forward.”

Mike still takes photos.

He can often be seen with Lou. He might be propped up on crutches or on his disability scooter, camera at the ready, but he attends rugby matches, events and uses the accessible areas of the Coast Path he loves to capture images of Pembrokeshire.

A keen drone user, Mike has found that while he cannot clamber over rocks and down steep slopes he is still able to get to those areas he can’t get to by using remote control.

He remains upbeat and a keen rugby fan. And the good news is that after a long wait, he and Lou have finally been able to move from their second storey flat to a disability-friendly bungalow.

News

Motorcyclist injured in Johnston crash after overtaking lorry

Published

4 hours ago

March 16, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Rider treated by paramedics following collision with van pulling out from junction

A MOTORCYCLIST was treated by paramedics after a collision with a van in Johnston on Monday morning (Mar 16).

The crash happened shortly after 9.15am as the rider was overtaking a lorry through slow-moving traffic on the main road. It is understood the lorry blocked the rider’s view of a van pulling out from a junction near KO Carpets.

Police units attended promptly to assist at the scene.

The motorcyclist is not believed to have been seriously injured.

The van suffered slight damage, including a broken wing mirror.

The road was not closed, police said.

Health

Plaid Cymru to hold public meeting over Withybush hospital surgery cuts

Published

5 hours ago

March 16, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Candidates say residents must be heard after emergency services decision

PLAID CYMRU candidates for the Ceredigion Penfro constituency will host a public meeting in Pembrokeshire to discuss concerns over the future of services at Withybush Hospital.

The event will take place at 6:30pm on Monday (Mar 31) at Letterston Village Hall, giving residents the opportunity to share their experiences and concerns following Hywel Dda University Health Board’s decision last month to remove emergency general surgery from the hospital.

Campaigners say the move will force many patients requiring urgent treatment to travel further for care, raising fears about the potential impact on patient safety in rural west Wales.

Elin Jones, Plaid Cymru lead candidate for Ceredigion Penfro, said: “Withybush is such an important hospital for the community and residents of Pembrokeshire. The decision to remove its emergency general surgery will severely weaken the life-saving capacity of this hospital.

“Plaid Cymru has long championed small rural hospitals such as Bronglais and Withybush. We need to ensure these hospitals remain strong local services within our communities. Withybush should have the basic life-saving and everyday treatment services it needs to function as a full general hospital.”

Kerry Ferguson, Plaid Cymru candidate for Pembrokeshire within the Ceredigion Penfro constituency, said the recent success of a public petition had demonstrated the strength of local feeling.

“It’s great to see that the online petition calling for Welsh Government intervention to restore emergency surgery and essential services at Withybush has reached its target, meaning it will now be debated in the Senedd,” she said.

“We are extremely disappointed by the Health Board’s decision to remove emergency general surgery at Withybush. Increased journey times for anyone in need of urgent medical treatment will put lives at risk. We need government intervention now to overturn this decision.”

Residents across Pembrokeshire have continued to raise concerns about the future of services at the hospital, which has long been a focal point in debates about healthcare provision in rural west Wales.

Climate

Research vessel begins mission to study seabed carbon in Irish Sea

Published

5 hours ago

March 16, 2026

Tom Sinclair

Bangor University scientists join £2.1m project investigating the impact of bottom trawling on carbon stored beneath the seabed

A STATE OF THE ART research vessel has set sail from Liverpool to investigate how bottom trawling may affect carbon stored in the seabed of the Irish Sea.

The scientific expedition is part of a £2.1 million research project funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and led by Professor Jan Geert Hiddink of Bangor University.

A team of eighteen scientists has embarked on the RRS Discovery, one of the world’s most advanced research vessels, for a three-and-a-half-week voyage studying the impact of fishing activity on carbon held in seabed sediments.

Before the ship departed, a number of local dignitaries were invited aboard for a tour of the vessel, including Liverpool City Region Mayor Steve Rotheram and National Oceanography Centre Operations Director Natalie Campbell.

Professor Jan Geert Hiddink, from Bangor University’s School of Ocean Sciences, said bottom-trawl fishing is both vital to global food supply and a major disturbance to seabed environments.

“Bottom-trawl fishing provides around a quarter of global seafood but is also the most extensive physical disturbance caused by human activities to stocks of carbon locked in seabed sediments,” he said.

“This is important because recent evidence suggests that disturbing the seabed could lead to the release of significant amounts of greenhouse gases from the seabed into the atmosphere.

“There are still major uncertainties about how this disturbance affects carbon stored beneath the seabed. As a result, the impact of these disturbances is largely unquantified and currently unregulated.

“The aim of this project is to gain a much clearer understanding of what is happening so that scientists, policymakers and regulators can make informed decisions in the future.”

Seven research organisations are collaborating on the project: Bangor University, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), Heriot-Watt University, the University of Leeds, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the University of St Andrews, and Imperial College London.

Caption: Scientists prepare to begin their research aboard the RRS Discovery, one of the world’s most advanced research vessels.