Health

Calls for ‘Owain’s law’ to aid brain tumour treatment

Published

9 months ago

July 4, 2025

SENEDD Members called for Owain’s law, in memory of a young father, to ensure a gold-standard approach to preserving human tissue for other cancer patients in future.

Hefin David led a debate on a cross-party motion on July 2 calling for a law named after his Caerphilly constituent Owain James, who sadly died last year.

He said: “Owain was only 34 years old when he was diagnosed with a 14cm, malignant, grade-four brain tumour in his right frontal lobe. His neurosurgeon said it was one of the biggest tumours she’d ever come across in her professional career.

“It was an absolutely devastating blow to Owain, his wife Ellie, who is in the public gallery today, and his daughter Amelia, who at the time was only 18 months old. Until then, Owain had always been a fit and healthy young man.”

Dr David said the family turned to private treatment and found a personalised vaccine that used a patient’s tumour tissue to educate the immune system to recognise cancerous cells.

He told the Senedd: “The problem here, however, was that Owain needed fresh frozen tumour tissue to develop a sufficient dose of the vaccine. Owain had had 7cm of tissue surgically removed but, unfortunately, only 1cm of this was fresh frozen and could be used.”

The Caerphilly Senedd Member explained Owain only had three doses of vaccine when it should have been more like 30 doses, but he initially made a remarkable recovery.

“Unfortunately, metastasis caused his tumour to recur elsewhere,” he said. “This time, the tumour was too aggressive and Owain sadly passed away in June 2024.

Caerphilly's Labour MS Hefin David — Caerphilly’s Labour MS Hefin David

“Ellie, 35 years of age, now lives with the regret that they were only able to develop and obtain enough doses for those three vaccines.

“Had there been more, we feel that Owain would still be alive today.”

Dr David said fresh frozen tissue is regarded as the gold-standard approach and can be used for vaccines, therapies, research and genome sequencing.

He explained: “This kind of use, though, can only be done when the tumour is fresh frozen, which it wasn’t in Owain’s case. Owain’s law seeks to address this. It seeks to make this the default process for storing surgically removed tissue in Wales.”

South Wales East MS Peredur Owen Griffiths

Plaid Cymru’s Peredur Owen Griffiths, who represents South Wales East, said: “My mother also died from a brain tumour, so it’s an issue that is deeply personal for me.

“Brain tumours remain the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40, yet they receive just one per cent of national cancer research funding.

“Families like mine and Owain’s are let down not only by research but also by how precious tumour tissue is managed. Owain’s law will enshrine a vital principle that patients and families must be fully informed and able to consent.”

Owain James playing football for Church Village FC

Mr Owen Griffiths added: “This is more than a technical protocol. This is a matter of dignity, respect and hope for families facing devastating diagnoses.”

The Conservatives’ Altaf Hussain, a former surgeon, supported Owain’s law but emphasised the importance of accommodations for religious preferences.

Mabon ap Gwynfor, Plaid Cymru’s shadow health secretary, expressed concerns about long waits before receiving a diagnosis and a lack of diagnostic machines such as scanners.

Mr ap Gwynfor told the Senedd: “Even after receiving a diagnosis, we have a lack of specialist treatment centres – with far too many of our patients having to travel very long distances at times of weakness to receive their treatment.”

Backing Owain’s law, he said: “This proposal does reflect two core principles at the heart of our NHS. The first is that the NHS belongs to the public…. Second, it’s the voice of the patient, their concerns, their views, that should be at the heart of every decision made.”

Jeremy Miles, for the Welsh Government, stressed the need to proceed with care and warned a legal requirement to freeze all brain tumour tissue risks unintended consequences.

Wales’ health secretary said: “Clinical teams already use their expert judgment to balance diagnostic needs with the potential for research and novel therapies.

“Overriding that clinical discretion through legislation could compromise timely diagnosis or create conflict where tissue volume is limited, which is why the government does not believe that the case is made for legislation.”

While the non-binding motion was agreed unanimously, Owain’s law is unlikely to proceed without Welsh ministers’ full support. But Dr David argued the UK and other countries will eventually introduce such a law as the availability of tissue becomes key to treatment.

Closing the debate, he said: “Let’s remember Owain for everything he’s done today. Even in his passing, he’s contributed to the debate on keeping patients alive for longer.”

Health

Doctors say Wales is failing to value NHS staff over new pay award

Published

12 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

BMA Cymru Wales accuses ministers of falling short on pay restoration as Welsh Government accepts DDRB recommendations for 2026-27

DOCTORS in Wales have accused the Welsh Government of failing to properly value NHS staff after ministers accepted this year’s independent pay recommendations for medical and dental professionals. The row centres on whether the award represents fair recognition for frontline staff — or yet another missed chance to reverse years of falling real-terms pay.

In a written statement published on Wednesday (Mar 25), Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said the Welsh Government had accepted the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body recommendations on headline pay for 2026-27. Under the decision, consultants, specialty and associate specialist doctors, resident doctors, dentists and locally employed doctors will receive a 3.5% consolidated uplift from April 1, 2026, while salaried dentists in Community Dental Services and the Public Dental Service will receive 3.75%.

But while the Welsh Government also said it accepted in principle a 3.5% uplift for contractor GPs and a 3.75% uplift to the pay element of dental contracts, ministers made clear that final decisions on how those increases are applied alongside wider contract changes would be left to the next government.

That has triggered an angry response from BMA Cymru Wales. In a press release issued on Wednesday, Dr Iona Collins, chair of the BMA’s Welsh Council, said ministers had “once again chosen to impose an award that falls short” of repeated promises to deliver full pay restoration for doctors employed by NHS Wales.

She said the award failed to reflect the “superhuman” efforts of doctors working under intense pressure and warned that inadequate pay would make it harder to retain staff in the Welsh NHS at a time when many are considering leaving for better pay and conditions elsewhere.

The BMA also raised concerns about general practice, saying GP pay had effectively been left hanging because the Cabinet Secretary linked the award to ongoing General Medical Services contract discussions with the incoming administration. The union said this left general practice “out in the cold” compared with other branches of the profession and called for urgent talks.

The Welsh Government said the award would apply from April 1 and added that wider DDRB recommendations not directly related to headline pay would be considered separately with partners. Ministers thanked NHS staff for their “ongoing dedication and hard work”.

The dispute is likely to reignite the wider argument over recruitment, retention and morale in NHS Wales, with doctors’ leaders insisting that pay restoration is no longer simply about reward, but about preventing more clinicians from walking away from the service.

Health

Same Day Emergency Care unit at Glangwili to reopen after £2m refurbishment

Published

13 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Tom Sinclair

THE SDEC unit at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen will reopen to patients and staff on Monday (Mar 30) following a major £2m refurbishment.

The upgrade, funded by the Welsh Government, has delivered additional consultation rooms, a redesigned reception area, and improved facilities aimed at enhancing the experience for both patients and staff.

Health board chiefs say the revamped unit is expected to ease pressure on the hospital’s Emergency Department and forms part of wider efforts to improve urgent care services across Hywel Dda University Health Board sites, including the Minor Injury Unit at Prince Philip Hospital.

Keith Jones, Director of Operational Planning and Performance at Hywel Dda, said: “We are very grateful to the Welsh Government for the £2.096 million investment, which has allowed us to increase capacity within the SDEC unit at Glangwili.

“We expect these improvements will help reduce pressure on the Emergency Department and enable our teams to deliver a smoother, faster experience for patients.”

During the works, several services were temporarily relocated to Y Lolfa, formerly Padarn Ward. These will now return to the SDEC building, including the Discharge Lounge, Medical Day Unit and the Primary Care Out of Hours Service.

Cancer support services, including the Cancer Information and Support Service (CISS) and Cancer Psychological Support Service (CaPS), will also move back to the unit.

Access routes for services that remained at the Priory Day Hospital during the refurbishment – including podiatry, neuro-rehabilitation and occupational therapy – will return to normal.

Patients are advised to follow on-site signage or ask staff for directions. The health board said appointment letters will include updated information, but urged patients to double-check details and contact departments directly if unsure.

Mr Jones added: “I would like to thank staff, patients and visitors for their patience during these works.”

Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles said the investment would deliver “real improvements” for patients and staff.

He added: “This is part of our ongoing commitment to improving hospital facilities across Wales, ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, as quickly as possible.”

Health

Cervical cancer prevention drive stepped up across Wales

Published

15 hours ago

March 25, 2026

Rieve Nesbitt-Marr

Home testing and vaccine catch-up plan launched as uptake falls after pandemic

PLANS to boost cervical cancer prevention across Wales have been set out by ministers, amid concerns that HPV vaccination rates have fallen since the pandemic.

In a written statement issued on Wednesday (Mar 25), Health Secretary Jeremy Miles said urgent work is underway to improve uptake of both vaccination and screening, which are key to preventing the disease.

The Welsh Government confirmed that before COVID-19, HPV vaccine uptake was close to the World Health Organisation’s 90% target — but levels have since dropped.

Health board vaccination teams have delivered more than 1,400 additional HPV vaccinations during 2025 as part of targeted efforts, particularly focusing on schools where uptake is lowest. Further catch-up programmes are planned over the next 12 months.

Public Health Wales has also launched surveys aimed at understanding why some young people and parents are not attending vaccination appointments, alongside a wider communications campaign highlighting the benefits of the vaccine.

Cervical screening, which detects high-risk strains of HPV, remains a key part of prevention efforts. However, participation varies across different groups.

A new initiative will see at-home cervical screening kits introduced later this year, aimed at women who rarely or never attend appointments. The move is designed to remove barriers to screening and improve access.

Latest figures show a gradual decline in cervical cancer cases and deaths in Wales. The number of cases has fallen from an average of 164 per year in the early 2000s to 149 in recent years, while annual deaths have dropped from 61 to 54.

Despite this progress, ministers say more must be done to improve early detection and treatment.

Cervical cancer is currently grouped within wider gynaecological cancers for NHS treatment targets, but plans are in place to report more detailed data by April 2027 to better track treatment times.

Jeremy Miles urged those eligible to take up both vaccination and screening offers, adding that improving access to prevention, diagnosis and treatment would be key to reducing cancer rates further in the years ahead.