Health

Mark Drakeford in Milford Haven as pub tills ring for first weekend since December

Published

4 years ago

May 3, 2021

As part of the easing of lockdown restrictions, hospitality business owners let out a sigh of relief this week after a long winter as it was announced by Mark Drakeford that the sector could open – partially.

On Monday, many of us went for a pint as pubs, cafes, and restaurants can now serve customers outdoors.

First Minister Mark Drakeford visited Milford Haven on Sunday (May 2) in last minute campaigning before the election on Thursday.

It was the first weekend of trade since pubs were forced to shut before Christmas.

Indoor hospitality is still set to return on May 17 he confirmed.

Announcing the changes officially for the first time last week, First Minister said: “The public health context in Wales remains favourable, with cases falling and our vaccination programme continues to go from strength to strength.

“Because meeting outdoors continues to be lower risk than meeting indoors, we are able to bring forward changes to allow any six people to meet outdoors.

“This will provide more opportunities for people, especially young people, to meet outdoors with their friends.

“This will undoubtedly have a significant positive impact on people’s wellbeing. I’m also pleased to confirm outdoor hospitality will be allowed to reopen from Monday 26 April.

“These changes will help the hospitality sector recover after a difficult twelve months. It is thanks to the continuing efforts of people across Wales we are able to introduce this change. Together, we will continue to keep Wales safe.”

Reaction to the changes

Welcoming the announcement Jane Dodds, leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats, said it was “great news”.

She said: “As a nation we must all work together to ensure the vaccination programme continues and that the lockdowns and closures we’ve been through never need to return.”

Welsh Conservative Senedd leader, Andrew RT Davies, said: “Labour had ample opportunity to bring forward a roadmap out of lockdown, but refused to do so.

“Thanks to the UK’s great vaccination story much more detail could have been announced prior to the election period… but Labour chose to play politics instead of adopting the Welsh Conservative roadmap.”

Mark Reckless, from the Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, said: “This is getting to the point of testing election rules to breaking point.

“The Labour leader is using his platform as first minister to make political announcements during an election campaign.”

So what do businesses have to do by law?

Welsh Government guidance states: “As an employer or business operator, you have a legal responsibility to protect employees and visitors; and anyone else on the premises, from risks to their health and safety. You also need to assess the risks from COVID-19 and take reasonable measures to minimise exposure to the virus.

“Risk assessments are used to identify and address these risks or minimise them. When undertaking your specific COVID-19 risk assessment you must comply with the Coronavirus Regulations and have regard to the statutory guidance and use this document to inform your decisions and control measures, recognising you cannot eliminate all risks.

“Risk assessments must be reviewed and updated regularly, whenever circumstances change including whenever the coronavirus alert levels change in Wales.

“A risk assessment is not about creating huge amounts of paperwork, but rather about identifying sensible measures to control risks. Your risk assessment will help you decide whether you have done everything you reasonably need to. There are interactive tools available to support you from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Managing risks and risk assessments at work.

“These risk assessments will be the starting point for implementing the reasonable measures that are required to be taken to minimise exposure to the coronavirus on premises open to the public and in workplaces.

“This involves considering issues such as: whether ventilation is adequate; hygiene factors including hand washing and access to hand washing facilities; ensuring physical distancing is taking place and if 2m is achievable; the extent to which the use of screens, PPE and face coverings can mitigate risks, especially where the 2m distance is not achievable.”

Made possible by the vaccine?

As of April 29th, Public Health Wales said a total of 1,816,451 first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have now been given in Wales.

The agency said 732,643 second doses have also been administered.

Wales is currently in phase two of its vaccination programme, meaning the NHS is now inviting everyone aged 40 to 49 to be vaccinated, after successfully offering the vaccine to everyone in the JCVI priority groups 1-9.

It comes as an estimated six in 10 adults (61 per cent) in private households would have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies in the week to April 11th, the ONS said on April 28th.

This is up from around one in two adults, or 48.2 per cent, two weeks earlier.

On April 7th, Wales became the first country in Britain to administer the Moderna vaccine.

It was also announced on April 14th that all over 16s who live with an adult with a weakened immune system are to be prioritised for Covid-19 jabs, following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

Adults who are immunosuppressed have a weaker immune system to fight infections naturally and are more likely to have poorer outcomes after contracting coronavirus.

This includes those with blood cancer, HIV or those who are having immunosuppressive treatment.

What about hospitality that can’t operate outdoors?

The First Minister has announced that an extra £200m is available to help businesses which are not yet able to open.

This will help top up the non-domestic rates grants. Mr Drakeford said it means hospitality, tourism, leisure and non-essential retail businesses, which must remain closed will be eligible for a third payment of between £4,000 and £5,000 to help them meet ongoing operating costs while they cannot trade.

“This is in top of the announcement earlier this week extending the business rates holiday for retail, leisure and hospitality businesses for the whole of the next financial year,” Mr Drakeford added.

“We have made well in excess of £2bn available to businesses over the course of the last year to help them through the pandemic, which is over and above the support available from the UK Government’s schemes.

“This is the most generous business support scheme available in the UK. I’m very pleased we’ve been able to safeguard more than 160,000 jobs in these most difficult of times.”

Controlling the crowds

Hospitality catering to households who have effectively been locked down all spring will be a welcome sight to many after large crowds recently descended upon Cardiff Bay.

Police had been given special powers after crowds gathered in Cardiff Bay on April 2nd, despite coronavirus restrictions still being in place.

Cardiff council said a significant amount of rubbish had been left by “large groups of people intent on breaking Covid-19 restrictions”.

South Wales Police has put a dispersal order in place, giving officers the power to exclude people from the area.

Covid rules at that time stated six people from two different households could meet outdoors. It followed similar scenes outside the Senedd earlier that week, when three police officers were injured.

Supt Marc Attwell said: “As restrictions have eased, the need for personal responsibility is critical and it is extremely disappointing that a small minority are willing to put themselves, and others, in harm’s way.

“Cardiff Bay in particular has attracted large crowds over the past few days.

“The behaviour seen over the past three days has placed additional pressure on not only the police but the local authority as well, and meant that officers have been diverted from other parts of the force.”

“We are asking people in groups of six or more who are thinking of attending or organising a gathering at the Senedd over this bank holiday weekend not to do so.”

Officers arrested a 20-year-old man for a public order offence, a 22-year-old woman was arrested for being drunk and disorderly and for possession of a Class A substance and a 35-year-old-man was also arrested for possession of a Class A substance.

The council said the trail of litter left a “huge task” for clean-up staff as “bins were left unused and the ground was littered with rubbish”.

“Despite the preventative measures put in place by the council, in partnership with South Wales Police, the Welsh government’s coronavirus regulations were again broken by a significant number of people illegally gathering in Cardiff Bay,” the authority said.

“The rules are clear, six people, from two households are allowed to meet outdoors, maintaining two metre social distancing.

“Breaking these rules significantly increases the chances of Covid-19 cases rising in the city.”

Now, with places for people to socialise in an organised manner, scenes like this should hopefully be avoided as people safely enjoy themselves.

Health

Simon Hart: Covid rules should have been uniform across UK

Published

4 days ago

March 2, 2025

Tom Sinclair

FORMER Welsh Secretary Simon Hart has argued that Covid-19 restrictions should have been consistent across the UK, rather than varying between the four nations. The former Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire MP, who served as Secretary of State for Wales from 2019 to 2022, said political influences shaped decision-making rather than purely focusing on disease control.

Speaking in an interview, Hart reflected on the challenges of navigating the pandemic and expressed concern over the fragmented approach taken by devolved governments, which he believes led to confusion and unnecessary complexity for residents.

A fractured response

“I just didn’t feel that decisions were being made purely on the basis of disease control and risk management,” Hart said, referencing the differing rules on mask mandates, lockdowns, and social distancing in Wales and England.

One example he cited was the stark contrast in restrictions when travelling between the two nations. Passengers crossing the Severn Tunnel by train were met with announcements informing them of different masking rules on either side of the border, which Hart believes highlighted an unnecessary and avoidable division in public messaging.

Politics at play?

According to Hart, decision-making at the time was not just about public health but also about politics. “More and more, as we went through the pandemic, I came to the conclusion that there was a lot of politics in the decision-making,” he said.

He suggested that some ministers in Cardiff deliberately sought to highlight differences with Westminster, creating friction between governments and undermining confidence in the UK’s pandemic response.

Lessons for the future

The former Chief Whip, who recently published his book Ungovernable: The Political Diaries of a Chief Whip, said his experiences during the pandemic serve as a reminder of the difficulties faced by politicians, health officials, and the public alike.

With restrictions lasting more than two years, Hart argues that greater UK-wide coordination could have reduced confusion and made public health messaging more effective. He believes that if a similar crisis were to happen again, a more unified approach should be considered to avoid unnecessary political and logistical complications.

Hart’s comments reignite the debate over whether the UK’s devolved system helped or hindered the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. While the Welsh Government has yet to respond to his claims, the discussion continues over whether differing approaches were necessary to address local needs or whether they simply sowed division in a time of national crisis.

Health

Delays in ambulance response ‘likely led to mother’s death’

Published

2 weeks ago

February 23, 2025

Tom Sinclair

A PRE-INQUEST review has heard that a Pembrokeshire mother would likely have survived had ambulance personnel arrived in time.

Charlotte Burston, 40, from Llanteg, fell ill with chest pains on Christmas Day 2023. Her teenage daughter called 999 twice, but an ambulance was delayed by over an hour and a half. With no medical help available, her stepfather, Brian Lye, drove her towards Withybush Hospital.

Tragically, she suffered a heart attack at Robeston Wathen and later died at Morriston Hospital on New Year’s Eve.

The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) previously admitted an “error in allocation” regarding the emergency calls. A report presented at today’s hearing concluded that had a paramedic been present, a defibrillator could have been used, and Ms Burston would, on the balance of probabilities, have survived.

At the hearing on Friday (Feb 21) Pembrokeshire Coroner Mark Layton said: “Had the call been preferentially allocated, this would have led to somebody being sent to the address, and the allocation of such a person, on the balance of probabilities, would have altered the tragic outcome.”

A full inquest, expected to last a day, will take place in late spring or early summer.

Health

End the “undignified and disrespectful” hospital corridor care, Senedd Members demand

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2025

Chris Haines, ICNN Senedd reporter

SENEDD Members urged the Welsh Government to put an end to the “undignified and disrespectful” practice of corridor care in Welsh hospitals.

James Evans, the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary, warned corridor care has become the norm and the crisis can no longer be ignored.

He said: “A crisis where patients – mothers, fathers, grandparents – are left waiting in chairs for hours and sometimes days waiting for a bed.

“A crisis where ambulance crews spend hours parked outside hospitals and when they get inside they’re left waiting in corridors.

“A crisis where doctors and nurses, despite their dedication and tireless efforts, are being pushed beyond breaking point, describing their workplaces as war zones with patients placed everywhere. This is a national disgrace.”

Leading a Tory debate on February 19, Mr Evans raised a report by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) which warned corridor care is putting patients at risk in every part of Wales.

He told the Senedd: “If we’re serious about ending corridor care, we must also free up hospital capacity. We must pause the reduction in hospital beds and conduct a national review of NHS capacity.”

Mr Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, expressed concerns about social care being underfunded, understaffed and unable to take patients ready to leave hospital.

Urging ministers to accept the report’s recommendations, he highlighted the RCN’s calls for more clinical decision makers on weekends, district nurses and community care teams.

He said: “Corridor care should never be allowed to happen and we must never, ever tolerate it. This means making it a never event, something so unacceptable it must never happen.”

His Plaid Cymru counterpart Mabon ap Gwynfor described the RCN report as painting a bleak picture of a health service that puts patients and staff at risk.

“The report reinforces what we have heard,” he said. “With heart-rending examples of patients dying in their chairs in a hospital corridor while waiting for treatment.

“It’s a totally undignified and disrespectful way of treating our loved ones, and the [Welsh] Government must ensure that this practice comes to an end.”

Labour’s Carolyn Thomas pointed to the impact of 14 years of austerity, with cuts shared between social care and the health service.

The Conservatives’ Altaf Hussain said a 73-year-old constituent spent Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day being treated in the waiting room at Morriston Hospital.

Dr Hussain, a former surgeon, told the Senedd: “Emergency departments are working far above staffing guidelines that the Royal College of Emergency Medicine suggests.

“Staff are completely burnt out; they dread coming into work and many feel extremely anxious before their shifts. Many staff cry regularly on shift…. If nurses are telling us the situation is dire, we should listen and act.”

His Tory colleague Janet-Finch Saunders said more than 6,500 ambulances spent at least an hour outside a Welsh A&E waiting to offload patients in December alone.

She said: “Nursing staff describe patients treated in chairs for over 24 hours – 48 hours I’ve witnessed – forced into hallways or in front of fire exits due to a lack of available beds.

“I know of one constituent only recently, I saw them being treated in a cupboard.”

Health secretary Jeremy Miles stated the Welsh Government will focus on strengthening the whole health and care system, not only hospitals.

He said: “I don’t believe that it is acceptable to provide care or treatment in areas that are not clinical settings, or areas that are inappropriate. But this is happening because the health service here and across the UK is under huge pressure.”

Mr Miles added: “Our district and community nursing teams play a vital role in delivering high-quality care closer to home, preventing unnecessary hospital admissions….

“We are committed to expanding and investing in this part of the nursing workforce to meet the needs of our population and to improve outcomes.”

Senedd Members voted 26-24 against the motion. The Welsh Government’s amendment, to note the report rather than commit to its recommendations, was agreed by the same margin.