News

Ambulance service ‘unacceptable’

Published

11 years ago

February 11, 2015

THERE was widespread expectation that the publication of the latest ambulance waiting times for Wales would reveal a disastrous slump in performance.
That expectation has been met in spades.
There is a 65% target for ambulances to reach the most serious cases within eight minutes. The most recent figures reveal that what the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) says is ‘an unacceptable level of service delivery’ meant that only 42.6% achieved the target time.
Pembrokeshire’s figures at 52.2%, while better than the Welsh average, are still markedly below the performance target.
Shadow Health Minister Elin Jones of Plaid Cymru said: “After recent reports of ambulances queuing outside A&E departments we suspected that today’s ambulance response times would be bad, but I am stunned by how bad they are. In June 2014 the Health Minister told us that he would implement urgent improvements to the service by September last year, but that hasn’t happened. The Welsh Government has failed to manage the service to meet the demand placed upon it. Peaks in demand happen during the winter months happen every year, and the Labour Government should be prepared for this. Instead, paramedics and A&E staff have to take pressure off other parts of the NHS. It is not their fault.”
She concluded: “The capacity of social care and community hospitals has been cut, which has put A&E services under unbearable pressure. The Minister should be focusing on resurrecting social and community care in order to ease the unbearable pressure on A&E and paramedics.”
Citing unprecedented call numbers, Tracy Myhill, Interim Chief Executive of WAST claimed: “When you break down our ‘Red’ calls into Red 1’s (immediately life-threatening, e.g. cardiac arrest) and Red 2’s (serious but less immediately time critical, e.g. suspected stroke), we performed much better on the higher acuity Red 1 calls (57.9%) than the Red 2 calls (40.6%). While this is still not where we’d like performance to be, it demonstrates that we are still reaching the majority of our most critically ill patients within eight minutes. The pressure across the unscheduled care system in December was immense.”

Crime

Haverfordwest man denies historic rape charges involving underage girl

Published

24 minutes ago

December 17, 2025

Luke Sinclair

Trial listed at Cardiff Crown Court for 2027

A HAVERFORDWEST man has denied a series of historic sexual offences against an underage girl and is due to stand trial at Cardiff Crown Court in 2027.

Lee Mahagan, aged 52, of High Street, Haverfordwest, has pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape and two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child.

The charges relate to allegations involving a girl aged between 13 and 15, which are said to have occurred in Cardiff between 2009 and 2010.

The court was told that the case is expected to take around five days when it goes before a jury. A trial date has been set for January 25, 2027.

Mahagan was granted conditional bail by Judge Hywel James following a hearing at Cardiff Crown Court.

The defendant is represented by David Pinnell, while Daniel Jones is appearing for the prosecution.

Crime

Teenager charged following rape allegation at Saundersfoot nightclub

Published

2 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Staff Writer

Incident reported at Sands Nightclub in early hours of Sunday

DYFED-POWYS POLICE is investigating an allegation of rape following an incident reported at Sands Nightclub in Saundersfoot in the early hours of Sunday (Dec 14).

An 18-year-old man was arrested after officers were called to the venue, which is a popular late-night spot in the seaside village. The allegation relates to events said to have taken place during the early hours of the morning.

Joshua Probert, aged 18, has since been charged with one count of rape. He has been remanded in custody and is due to appear before Swansea Crown Court on Thursday (Dec 18).

The complainant is entitled to lifelong anonymity under law, and no further details about the allegation can be reported at this stage.

Dyfed-Powys Police confirmed that enquiries are ongoing. Officers are understood to have carried out initial investigative work shortly after the report was made, including speaking to witnesses.

Anyone with information that may assist the investigation is urged to contact Dyfed-Powys Police.

Anyone affected by sexual assault or rape can contact the 24/7 Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Line, run by Rape Crisis England & Wales, on 0808 500 2222. Calls are free and confidential.

Local Government

Mayor visits Milford Haven Library Christmas event

Published

4 hours ago

December 17, 2025

Tom Sinclair

THE MAYOR of Milford Haven, Cllr William Elliott, paid a visit to Milford Haven Library on Tuesday morning to attend its festive Mince Pie and a Cuppa event.

The event brought together library staff and local residents, with the Mayor thanking staff for their work supporting the community throughout the year. During the visit, Cllr Elliott also spent time speaking with residents who had come along to the event or were visiting the library to borrow books.

Milford Haven Library is part of the Pembrokeshire Libraries service, which provides access to books, information, and community activities across the county.

The Mayor wished residents a Merry Christmas at the close of his visit.