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Keeping A&E 24/7: Health board releases statement on Withybush changes

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withybushhospTHE LOCAL health board has released a statement today in the run up to changes that it says are ‘essential’ to ensure that the A&E department at Withybush General Hospital remains open 24 hours a day.

The statement reads as follows:

“HOSPITALS and community services across the south of Hywel Dda University Health Board area will support each other further from Wednesday (August 5).  This will allow patient access to medical and unscheduled care services to be maintained 24/7, whilst temporarily there are fewer than usual junior medical doctors in place.

Between now and the end of the year, there will be less medical doctors available at Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest, after the Wales Deanery was unable to allocate core medical trainees for the usual August start.

Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB) Medical Director Dr Philip Kloer explained: “Whilst we have managed to recruit service doctors into the posts ourselves, these are mainly international doctors and it will take some months before all the Visa paperwork and processes are in place and doctors are working on the ground in the hospital. In the interim, we are putting in place a temporary solution to ensure that the number of medical beds at Withybush Hospital reflect the number of doctors available, whilst also keeping the medical intake and doors to the Emergency and Urgent Care Centre open 24/7.”

This involves temporarily providing additional capacity and beds at Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, and Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli, and shifting both hospital’s patient boundaries further west. For example GP referrals and appropriate Welsh Ambulance Service Trust responses from Carmarthen East and the Gwendraeth Valley, will take patients to Prince Philip Hospital, and likewise those from Narberth, Kilgetty, Tenby and Saundersfoot areas will go to Glangwili Hospital.

Struggle to maintain a 24 hour service: Withybush A&E

Struggle to maintain a 24 hour service: Withybush A&E

Patients across the area will continue to be able to walk-in to their nearest emergency department as they do now. Also following initial feedback we would like to clarify breast cancer patients will continue to be cared for on the Peony Suite (Breast Care Unit) at Prince Philip Hospital.

Initially, Ward 7, a surgical ward at Prince Philip Hospital, will be converted into a medical ward to accommodate additional medical patients whilst a dedicated temporary ward is prepared at Glangwili Hospital, hoped to be ready in eight weeks.

Dr Kloer emphasised: “We will have to initially postpone some planned surgical procedures, but we are working hard to minimise the impact of this, for example ring fencing orthopaedics and cancer surgery and exploring options for doing more day case surgery and possibly weekend working.”

Additionally, the UHB has worked with the local authorities and colleagues in the independent and third sectors to ensure patients who are medically fit and do not need to be in hospital are supported to receive the care and support they need elsewhere. This has included the purchasing of additional beds in nursing and residential homes.

Chief Executive Steve Moore said: “The health board’s priority has continued to be to maintain access to medical and unscheduled care services for our population, whilst we have a temporary gap in the number of junior doctors available. We acknowledge that this situation affects our entire area and that each of our much loved and respected hospitals has a role to play – working together for the benefit of our population.

“The solutions we are putting in place this week have been clinically led and involved a huge range of staff from across the health board area. A huge amount of work has gone into this and the board is extremely thankful and proud of all staff who have been involved from clinicians, nurses, managers and other personnel – all of whom have shown an absolute dedication to patient care. We are also grateful to the ongoing support from partners, including local GPs and the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire local authorities and private and third sector colleagues.”

The local population can support their local hospitals at this time by ensuring they choose the best healthcare service to meet their needs, reserving emergency care for those who need it most. The national Choose Well guidance can help.

Families and friends of patients who have been admitted to hospital can also assist when patients are medically fit and ready to be discharged home, by supporting that process.

The position will improve continuously as doctors come into post at Withybush Hospital between August and December, and the additional capacity which is being put in place at Glangwili Hospital will be maintained in order to support winter pressure.”

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Welsh Lib Dems urge First Minister to return dodgy donation

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THIS week in the Senedd, the Welsh Liberal Democrats have urged the First Minister to return the £200,000 donation he received from a company linked to environmental crimes.

Speaking to the Senedd on Wednesday, party leader Jane Dodds MS urged FM Vaughan Gething to return money donated to his campaign by Dauson Environmental, a refuse and recycling business owned by David John Neal.

Mr Neal received a 3-month suspended prison sentence in 2013 for illegally dumping waste at a conservation site on the Gwent levels.

His companies Atlantic Recycling and Neal Soil Suppliers were also prosecuted and given fines and costs of £202,000.

Then in 2017, Mr Neal was given another suspended sentence of 18 weeks, with fines and costs of £230,000 after failing to remove the waste.

The Welsh Lib Dems have called on the FM to return the donation, as part of wider calls for a shift away from the influence of “big money” in Welsh politics.

Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:

“This entire episode has casted a dark shadow upon Welsh democracy and has rightfully led to many questioning the integrity of Vaughan Gething’s leadership campaign and the way our democracy works here in Wales.

Unfortunately for many of us this is hardly surprising, as our political system has been broken for quite some time now.

A system that empowers the elite donor class whilst simultaneously shutting out the voice of the voter is a perversion of democracy itself.

This is why our wider goal must be to remove the influence of ‘big money’ from Welsh politics once and for all.

We cannot have another government that prioritises the interests of its financial benefactors over those of the Welsh people.

We need to take a firm stance in rooting out the influence of cash in Welsh politics, for the sake of our communities we must start prioritising their interests and needs instead of having more self-serving politicians.”

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Council seeking legal advice to address Withyhedge enforcement

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PEMBROKESHIRE County Council says it has sought legal advice and is contemplating legal proceedings against Withyhedge Landfill operators RML, in regards to the ongoing odour issues at the site.

The Council intends to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to abate the public nuisance odour arising from the landfill. Failure to comply with the injunction would be contempt of court, which carries a penalty of up to two years’ imprisonment and unlimited fine.

Following significant work undertaken by RML the Authority is disappointed that the problem has not been resolved and residents continue to be impacted by the odour.

Working in collaboration with Natural Resources Wales (NRW) and Public Health Wales (PHW), we fully appreciate that the communities affected cannot tolerate this any longer.

NRW announced that the first set of deadlines for the completion of actions to tackle the ongoing odour issues at Withyhedge Landfill have been met, one week on following the issuing of further enforcement action on 18th April.

This will be closely monitored by NRW to ensure the operator complies with all the actions set out in Notice by 14 May.

It was deemed appropriate to wait until the operator had carried out mitigation to comply with the enforcement requirements by NRW prior to considering this additional action.

To that end, on 26th April 2024, the Council served RML with a letter of claim and invited them to give legally binding undertakings to abate the odour nuisance or face legal proceedings. The Council also asked for disclosure of documents relevant to the proceedings, including records of waste brought in or removed from the landfill.

The Council has given RML until 14th May 2024 to respond to its letter of claim. This aligns with the current deadline set by NRW under its enforcement notice.

Pembrokeshire County Council Chief Executive Will Bramble welcomed the move. He said: “We are extremely disappointed that RML has not delivered the necessary action to stop the completely unacceptable smells from the site.

“We fully support the additional enforcement action being taken by NRW and continue to work closely with them to do all in our power to correct the situation.

“Our intention to ask the Court for an injunction requiring RML to stop the odour nuisance arising from the landfill, is another part of our collaborative approach. The smell from Withyhedge is having a major impact on residents and visitors. This situation has gone on too long and it is unacceptable.”

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Beautiful, funny and lovely: Family pay tribute to Sian Batchelor

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THE family of a woman has paid tribute to a “beautiful, funny, lovely person.”

Sian Batchelor, aged 32, was found on a beach near Pennar, Pembroke Dock on Tuesday evening, April 30th, 2024.

Her family has issued a statement to say: ‘We are devastated by our loss. Sian was a beautiful, funny, loving person. We will treasure the good times we had with her.

“We would now like time to grieve and would ask to be given privacy in which to do so.”

The circumstances surrounding Sian’s death are being investigated and police would like to hear from anyone with information, sightings of Sian or contact from Sian, between Thursday April 25 to Tuesday April 30.

Police can be contacted either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908.

Quote reference: DP-20240430-284

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