News
Out-of-hours surgery at Withybush Hospital ended due to ‘staff shortages’
THE PEMBROKESHIRE HERALD has been contacted by several sources close to Withybush General Hospital expressing concern that the Health Board is withdrawing yet another important service – this time by stealth.
The Herald understands that staff have been asked not to talk about the changes, which were implemented on May 1.
Our source told us: “The Health Board have been using bullying tactics. The staff in certain parts of Withybush Hospital are aware of what I am about to tell you, but they are not allowed to tell anybody. “As of the start of this month Withybush has no longer got emergency surgery from 5pm. “No out of hours surgery will also mean no high dependency units or ICU beds at our hospital.”
Our source added: “Patients admitted after hours with any acute surgical issues will be transferred to Glangwili.”
However, the Health Board has responded to questions put to it by this newspaper this week, saying that although the changes have taken place they are temporary and down to staff shortages and long term sickness.
Andrew Carruthers, Hywel Dda University Health Board Executive Director of Operations, said: “A temporary change to emergency out-of-hours surgery at Withybush Hospital was introduced on 1 May 2023 in response to the fragility of the out of hours emergency on-call consultant rota.
“Mitigations are in place to minimise risks to patient safety as the out of hours on-call consultant surgical staff rota has become unsustainable due to staff vacancies and long-term sickness, despite sustained efforts to recruit to the positions.
“There is no change to how patients access care at Withybush Hospital. In the rare cases where individuals require emergency surgery out of hours, they would be stabilised and transported to Glangwili or Bronglais hospitals before returning to Withybush Hospital.
“A team of surgical doctors at Withybush Hospital continues to provide 24/7 emergency surgical cover for patients with consultant teams at Glangwili and Bronglais hospitals providing support and advice remotely.
“As a result of the temporary change, patients accessing the emergency department at Withybush Hospital will either be treated and discharged; admitted (or discharged to return) for ambulatory surgery the next morning; admitted under surgery (or medicine) department for medical management of conditions not requiring surgery or transferred to Glangwili or Bronglais hospitals if advised by the Withybush surgical team.
The board in their statement highlighted that the current national guidelines discourage performing surgeries out of hours as a general practice.
“The health board aims to adhere to this guidance to ensure improved patient outcomes”, they said
They added that the expected number of individuals affected by this temporary change is anticipated to be minimal, and that thus far, no patients have been relocated to Glangwili or Bronglais hospitals as a direct consequence of this alteration.
Hywell Dda University Health Board has refuted any claims of instructing staff members not to share this information.
The temporary change, which was necessitated by staff vacancies and long-term sickness among the consultant surgical team, was extensively discussed during the public meeting of the Health Board in March of this year. It was shared with the surgical team, who expressed their support.
Ongoing communication with affected staff groups is being maintained to monitor the situation, address any concerns, and continue recruitment efforts in this area.
As the temporary change solely impacts operational procedures and does not affect patients’ access to services, the health board is communicating the alteration to staff members and will directly inform affected patients when required.
Any allegations of bullying are taken seriously, and individuals who believe they have been subjected to such behavior are encouraged to raise their concerns with their line manager or through the health board’s confidential staff helpline.
Crime
Businessman to stand trial for assault and strangulation
A HAVERFORDWEST businessman is to stand trial at Swansea Crown Court in September after denying charges of assaulting and strangling a woman
Appearing from custody, Oliver Torkington, 38, of Pembroke Road, appeared at the court for a plea hearing on April 26 where he pleaded not guilty.
Torkington is alleged to have assaulted a woman in St Clears on March 23, causing her actual bodily harm.
He is also accused of strangling her.
Business
Carmarthenshire cheese factory owner speaks out in bad odour row
THE DIRECTOR of a mozzarella factory which supports 140 dairy farmers has insisted he wants to be a good neighbour following complaints from a small number of people about noise and odour.
Steve Welch, of Dairy Partners Ltd, said acoustic barriers were installed in February to dampen the noise of liquid natural gas (LNG) deliveries at the site in Aberarad, near Newcastle Emlyn, Carmarthenshire. He said the company employed 75 people and served a growing market. “We’re expanding – that’s an indicator of our success,” he said.
Environment regulator Natural Resources Wales (NRW) had visited three months earlier, in December 2023, and found that the noise of pressurised LNG deliveries did not comply with Dairy Partners’ site permit. The NRW officer’s report said there was “an offensive and continual tonal noise originating from the direction of LNG tanker and LNG tank”, but no odour problem was detected.
NRW issued what’s known as a compliance assessment report in February this year requiring the company to take action. The regulator said this wasn’t the same as a formal enforcement notice, and that it was continuing to monitor noise and undertaking “detailed dialogue” with Dairy Partners.
Mr Welch said the LNG supplier it had been using exited the market last autumn. This supplier, he said, had a “silent” gravity-fed tanker which took six to eight hours to complete its delivery. He said all the available alternative LNG suppliers used a pressurised delivery system which was quicker, reduced the risk of spillage and was more economically viable. The company switched to the pressurised delivery system, which led to complaints about the accompanying noise.
Mr Welch said Dairy Partners tried using different tankers and built a wooden pallet stack to try to mitigate noise before investing in the sound-dampening panels, which he said made a big difference. He added that Dairy Partners was working with NRW to modify its site permit to reflect the use of the pressurised LNG deliveries.
Site manager Daryl White said liquid natural gas powered the factory and that there was one delivery per week during daytime hours between Monday and Friday, lasting one hour.
Dairy Partners measures the decibel level of LNG deliveries and Mr Welsh said the noise rated as “moderate to soft” when heard at the nearby roadside. A resident living just across the road, Megan Ceiriog-Jones, said she had recorded a higher decibel level, and that the sound of other operations such as night-time “venting” which she had recorded on video were disruptive. “The noise videos are just a sample of noise complaints that are sent to NRW on a regular basis,” she said.
Dairy Partners said further noise-dampening measures would be added as a condition of planning approvals for wastewater and cleaning tanks which were decided by Carmarthenshire Council’s planning committee last month. A handful of objectors opposed the retrospective applications, including Ms Ceiriog-Jones and Stephen Rees, who both addressed the committee. Ms Ceiriog-Jones said the effects of “noise and sleeplessness are hard to quantify”, while Mr Rees said the reality for residents living by the cheese factory was “considerable disruption”. Ward councillor Hazel Evans addressed the committee to say that Dairy Partners was a large contributor to the local economy and that she was reassured by the many planning conditions proposed by the planning department. She said she understood that some nearby residents weren’t happy, although they didn’t wish to see the factory close.
Speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Mr Welch said the company logged all complaints, had attempted to talk to Ms Ceiriog-Jones, and wanted to have a positive relationship. He said: “We want to be good neighbours.”
Mr Welch said cheese had been made at the site since 1938, with previous owners including Canadian firms Saputo and McCain Foods, and an Egyptian family business.
Site manager Mr White said the factory was “on its knees” when Dairy Partners took over in 2013 and began investing in it and increasing production.
Every year around 200 million litres of milk arrives at the site from 140 nearby dairy farms. Nine hours after arriving the milk is turned into 2.5kg blocks of mozzarrella cheese, with the separated whey sent to another company where it is dried and sold in powdered sports nutrition products. Cream is also produced at the Aberarad site.
“Making cheese is really technical,” said Mr Welch, who is one of three Dairy Partners directors. “You’te taking milk and turning it into a stretchable cooking product which has a lot of different characteristics. You’re manipulating proteins, sugars and minerals in a reproducible product.”
Varying levels of salt can be added to the cheese blocks, which move slowly along a tray system in a brine solution before being packaged ready for onward delivery. Around a third of it ends up overseas in countries including Lebanon and China.
Mr Welch said the site produced around 22,000 tonnes of mozzarella and pizza cheese per year, and that it hoped to expand this to as much as 35,000 tonnes. He said the 75 jobs were highly skilled and that many more indirect jobs relied on the site. Mr White said haulage business Mansel Davies & Son had around 40 drivers who delivered to and collected from the Aberarad site.
Dairy Partners, which also has a base in Gloucestershire where its cheese is shredded, has an annual turnover of around £140 million. “The market is expanding – we can’t keep up,” said Mr Welch. “We’ve got to keep producing, and we are never going to be silent.”
Charity
Fundraiser to take on epic 87k steps challenge to raise funds for Withybush
SAM FAULKNER is challenging himself to walk 87,000 steps in one day to raise funds for the Cardiac Care Unit at Withybush Hospital in memory of his father.
Sam will be walking along the Brecon and Monmouth Canal from Brecon to Rogerstone in Newport.
Sam said: “Since losing my Dad last year, I made a personal commitment to do something to raise money every year for the Cardiac Care Unit at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest who looked after my Dad so well in his final days.
“I will be challenging myself to complete 87,000 steps in a day on July 20th 2024 – 1,000 steps for every year of my Dad’s life. I’ll be walking around 40 miles in about 10 hours.
“Canal walks were always a firm favourite of mine and my Dad’s, with many days spent walking along the Grand Union in Northamptonshire when I was growing up.
“My family and I, and the unit at the hospital, would be beyond grateful for anything supporters could give. Thank you ever so much in advance.”
Katie Hancock, Pembrokeshire Fundraising Officer, said: “We’d like to say a huge good luck to Sam with his challenge. Thank you so much for dedicating your time to raise more funds for the Cardiac Care Unit.
“The support of our local communities enables us to provide services over and above what the NHS can provide in the three counties of Hywel Dda and we are extremely grateful for every donation we receive.”
You can donate to Sam’s fundraiser here: https://www.justgiving.com/…/sam-faulkner-1712508280259
For more details about the charity and how you can help support local NHS patients and staff, go to www.hywelddahealthcharities.org.uk
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