News

What safety net?

Published

12 years ago

September 2, 2014

THE REVELATION of the extent of the Welsh Ambulance Service crisis could not come at a worse time for the local health board.

Having scrapped SCBU and a consultant-led obstetric service and replaced it with a 24/7 dedicated ambulance, the Herald revealed two weeks ago that an advert for staff to crew the vehicle did not expire until after the service at Withybush had been removed. The Herald understands that despite Freemasons providing a specialist transport pod for babies to Withybush Hospital, that equipment has been commandeered for use at Glangwili.

As a result, Pembrokeshire neonates and infants travelling to Glangwili in an emergency will be reliant upon a heated mattress. A standard specification ambulance does not carry the equipment a sick neonate requires. To transport a sick neonate or baby needs specialised transport from the ground up. The ambulance must have the floor attachments to secure 200kg of neonatal transport incubator. All of the equipment must be the size for a neonate. While paramedics will do their best they are not a specialist neonatal transport nurse, of which two are required. Safe in the knowledge that the summer recess was coming, Health Minister Mark Drakeford claimed a robust safety net would be in place to ensure patient safety.

Mr Drakeford has avoided scrutiny for now, but is sure to face questions on how the Board persuaded the government that an understaffed and under-resourced service was either safe or robust. He will hardly need reminding that any mishap or tragedy will be laid firmly at his door. It also appears that despite repeated assurances that mothers will not have to travel outside the health board area to deliver their babies, and in spite of planning the closure of SCBU at Withybush for years, facilities are still not ready at Glangwili.

The Pembrokeshire Herald has been contacted by Martin McGeown, whose wife Bianca is expecting twins, a boy and a girl: “We have had a few complications with the little boy so we were back and forth to Cardiff. We are now in Singleton, Swansea. No cots were available at Carmarthen and we were sent to Bridgend hospital on Friday. “I then drove at 12 at night with Bianca down to Swansea as a bed become available. We were told if no cots were available in Wales we would have had to go to Birmingham that day.

“I’m so sad about our hospital and my heart is with all the midwives who have been treated so badly. I hope we can do something about this, as you don’t realise until it happens to one of you “Me and my family have been pulled from pillar to post not knowing were our children would be born. Swansea Singleton are amazing but deep down it should have been at Withybush. “This is not going to get better and has to be sorted.” Commenting on the closure this week of the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush Hospital, MP Stephen Crabb said: “I was deeply disappointed to see SCBU close this week. Pembrokeshire residents have fought long and hard to retain this vital service but the Welsh Labour Health Minister has pushed on regardless.”

“I have discussed these changes with both the Health Board and the Welsh Health Minister. At no point have I been reassured about the apparent safety-nets planned to deal with emergencies in future. We do not know if these are even operational. With SCBU now closed, this is a damning indictment of Welsh Labour’s health policy.” “People are right to be concerned. Even if the A40 is free from problems, Welsh ambulance response time targets have been missed year after year. Already this week we have seen reports of police cars across Wales transporting patients to hospital because ambulances are not available.” “I have written again to the Welsh Health Minister voicing my concerns. Pembrokeshire residents deserve, at the very least, to be given assurances that adequate plans are in place for dealing with emergency cases.”

Community

PCSO clocks in after villagers raise speeding fears

Published

15 minutes ago

April 9, 2026

Tom Sinclair

HERBRANDSTON residents flagged fast-moving traffic as a key concern, prompting police to carry out speed checks in the village.

Concern over speeding in Herbrandston has prompted a local police response, with PCSO Adam out in the village carrying out speed checks after residents raised the issue through DPP Connect.

Milford Haven and Neyland Police said the concerns emerged after officers signed local people up to the messaging service, which allows residents to share feedback and receive updates from police.

Many of those who responded said speeding through the village was one of their main worries.

In response, PCSO Adam was deployed to monitor traffic and check vehicle speeds.

The move is likely to be welcomed by residents who have grown tired of motorists treating the village like a racetrack.

Community

Walk the Path for Wellbeing to span three counties in 2026

Published

17 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE PEMBROKESHIRE COAST NATIONAL PARK AUTHORITY is inviting communities, workplaces, families and friends to take part in the 2026 Walk the Path for Wellbeing challenge, with this year’s event expanding across three counties for the first time.

Taking place on Sunday, May 10 and Monday, May 11, the challenge will bring people together to celebrate the spectacular West Wales coastline through walking and other forms of active travel, while highlighting the strong links between nature, movement and wellbeing. A reserve weekend of May 17 and 18 has also been set aside in the event of severe weather.

Building on feedback from last year, the event will now take place over two days rather than one, giving more people the opportunity to get involved and creating a longer window for celebration, storytelling and community spirit.

While last year’s challenge focused on the 186-mile Pembrokeshire Coast, this year’s event will also include sections of Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion, bringing even more communities into the shared coastal celebration.

The two-day event will feature self-led sections for group entry. With the focus firmly on enjoyment, there is no pressure to complete every stage, and participants are encouraged to do only as much as they feel comfortable with. Together, those individual efforts will contribute to a shared goal of covering the full 313 miles of coastline.

Angela Robinson, Health and Wellbeing Officer at the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority, said: “The coast has an extraordinary ability to lift people, connect communities and create lasting memories. By extending the event across two days and into neighbouring counties, we’re opening the door to even more people to celebrate that connection together and share their experiences on social media.”

Health

Nursing graduate jobs crisis warning as NHS pressures deepen

Published

17 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF NURSING WALES has warned of a growing jobs crisis for newly qualified nurses, saying a shortage of Band 5 posts could leave up to half of this year’s nursing graduates without work when recruitment opens.

The union said the situation was particularly alarming given the severe pressures already facing NHS Wales, with staff continuing to report overcrowded wards, unsafe conditions and unmanageable workloads across multiple health boards.

RCN Wales said the lack of available jobs for newly trained nurses pointed to a serious failure in workforce planning. It warned that losing new entrants to the profession would place even more strain on already overstretched services and could further affect patient care.

The organisation said the situation also undermined the Welsh Government’s and NHS Wales’ duty to improve the quality and safety of care.

RCN Wales is calling on the Welsh Government to provide urgent clarity on the scale of the shortfall, set out credible long-term workforce planning, and introduce immediate system-wide measures to recruit, retain and deploy the nursing workforce Wales needs.

The union said it had received assurances that students would not be penalised if posts were unavailable. That includes being released from any obligation to work in Wales and not being required to repay tuition fee support where workforce shortages prevent them from securing employment.

Professor Sandy Harding, Associate Director of Nursing at RCN Wales, said: “The situation facing newly registered nurses is deeply concerning and exposes serious failures in workforce planning.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that this situation is being driven by financial constraints, including the freezing of vacant posts within local health boards. Our NHS is under intense pressure, yet hundreds of newly qualified nurses may have no posts to enter. This is simply unacceptable.

“These students stepped forward for Wales, trained through immense challenges, and now face uncertainty at the very moment the system needs them most. They deserve far better.

“Every newly qualified nurse will be vital to meeting Wales’s care needs. The RCN will continue to demand transparency, accountability and long-term planning from the system. We will not stop speaking up for students, for our safety-critical nursing workforce, and for the people who rely on safe, high-quality care.”