News
HEART UNIT NEXT TO GO: Alarm as Withybush Hospital faces more cuts
NEWS that the Cardiology service at Withybush General Hospital is to shut has come “like a bolt from the blue” according to local health campaigners.
Widespread fears that the removal of essential services in paediatrics and special baby care were the thin end of the wedge and represented “salami-slicing tactics” by the Health Board appear to have been borne out by the announcement of plans to substantially cut the provision of cardiac care in Haverfordwest.
A week after well over 500 local people protested outside the Senedd in Cardiff Bay, the Health Board chose to release a report dated January 27, 2014 into the future of cardiac care in West Wales.
Relying on what is described as “anecdotal” evidence, the Board commissioned the report in September last year to review cardiac care, around the same time its plans for neonatal care were referred to an a separate expert panel.
THE HEALTH BOARD did not publicise the referral of cardiac services and it was not mentioned by Mark Drakeford, Welsh Health Minister, who rejected the idea that services would be “salami sliced” away from the Haverfordwest hospital.
It is understood that the report proposes further downgrades to outlying general hospitals and the centralisation of cardiac care on West Wales General, Carmarthen.
The press release carried on the Local Health Board’s website says that the report was commissioned “following concerns raised” but fails to say by whom. The Pembrokeshire Herald understands that concerns were raised within the Local Health Board itself by two cardiologists and not by an outside agency.
Local Health Board Medical Director Dr Sue Fish said: “Our patients deserve the best possible care and we would like to reassure patients we take the issues raised in the report very seriously.
“The review did not look at any specific issues relating to individual patients and has not identified any parts of the service that are currently unsafe.
“However, it did make a number of recommendations advising us on how they believe we should configure cardiology services to improve the care of patients across the university health board.
“We will have to consider the recommendations very seriously before reaching a decision on how we implement them.”
Surprisingly, the members of the panel writing the report not only failed to visit West Wales General Hospital, they also failed to visit Bronglais and Withybush Hospitals or to speak to the families of patients who had received treatment at those hospitals.
The conclusion that the panel has drawn is:
“The reality for Withybush and Bronglais is that the current situation is not tenable. Patients served by these hospitals do not appear to receive optimum care.”
Sue Fish responded to the report saying:
“It’s important to stress that no decisions have been made as the project board will need to consider the recommendations with our expert clinicians before firm decisions on the best way forward are made.”
The Health Board will provide its official response to the report at the public board meeting in May. The announcement comes a week to the day after the protest by outraged Pembrokeshire residents at the gradual and ongoing movement of essential health care services away from our County’s only general hospital.
As the Health Board had the report on January 27, it is not clear why its publication was delayed until March 12.
Spokesperson for SWAT Chris Overton said:
“The cardiology move is not a surprise. Very soon all inpatient services will be centralised at Glangwili. There is no room there and nothing is ready!
“The Chairman and Chief Executive are jumping ship. The Welsh Government seem willing to sacrifice a few lives just to save money. None of this was in the Health Board’s consultation, which was a farce. Hopefully we can really expose this now in court! “The next marches and demonstrations need to be much bigger. Are you with us?”
The next protest march to Withybush is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 and a fundraising craft fair will take place on Sunday, April 6 at the Picton Centre, Haverfordwest.
Spokesperson for SWAT Chris Overton said:
“The cardiology move is not a surprise. Very soon all inpatient services will be centralised at Glangwili. There is no room there and nothing is ready!
“The Chairman and Chief Executive are jumping ship. The Welsh Government seem willing to sacrifice a few lives just to save money. None of this was in the Health Board’s consultation, which was a farce. Hopefully we can really expose this now in court!
“The next marches and demonstrations need to be much bigger. Are you with us?”
The next protest march to Withybush is scheduled for Saturday, April 12 and a fundraising craft fair will take place on Sunday, April 6 at the Picton Centre, Haverfordwest.
Education
Lib Dem leader meets student union after scrapping of teacher training
Last week, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds visited Aberystwyth University to meet students following the announcement that the University will be scrapping their Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) program.
The announcement comes after the publication of an Estyn inspection report last year, which found that the institution had “been too slow” when it came to prioritising student support.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have now called for the University to produce and implement an action plan that will enable the reintroduction of this course at the earliest opportunity, as well as for the Uni to rectify any similar shortcomings in other training programs.
Commenting, the Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats Jane Dodds MS said:
“Aberystwyth university has long been seen as a cornerstone of education here in Wales, and its role in shaping the future of Welsh-medium education is pivotal.
However, the decision by the Education Workforce Council to withdraw accreditation for their teacher training program now puts this at risk.
The report published by Estyn rightfully identified several flaws in the Uni’s approach to supporting student teachers, along with requiring the University to make significant improvement.
The decision of the EWC suggest that these improvements have not been made.
We are now calling on the University to get their act together, fix the shortcomings in this program and begin plans to reintroduce the course as soon as possible.
Commenting, a spokesperson for the Welsh Young Liberals said: “There was an overwhelming lack of support, especially for Disabled Students, which has been consistent since 2020.
Previous lecturers were always late, and assignments were marked late and inconsistently.
As a joint honours student my timetable is very erratic, and this has an adverse effect on my wellbeing.
This does not however, mean that the course should be cut, Aberystwyth university should be looking to improve the course and help deliver the next generation of teachers.”
Commenting, the Welsh Liberal Democrat PPC for Ceredigion Mark Williams said: “The reputation of Aberystwyth University as a well-respected centre of education is rightfully a source of pride for many residents here in Ceredigion.
This is why it is so dis-heartening to hear that the Uni have failed to take the recommendations in the 2023 Estyn report seriously, leading them into the embarrassing position of losing their accreditation which risks delivering a severe blow to the future of Welsh-medium education.
The lack of foresight from the Uni in this regard is deeply worrying and I hope that, for the sake of both the students and the wider community, they take all the steps needed to restart the course at the earliest opportunity.”
Crime
Manslaughter charge following death in Carmarthenshire
DYFED-POWYS POLICE have confirmed Jason Thomas, 39, from Llanelli, has been charged with manslaughter following an incident on Saturday, March 25.
Police were called to a property in Robinson St, Llanelli to concerns for the welfare of a man.
Liam Rhys Morgan-Whittle, 22, was taken to hospital where he sadly passed away.
Jason Thomas was quickly arrested and later released on conditional bail while the police investigation continued.
He will appear at Llanelli Magistrates Court on Thursday, May 30, it has been confirmed.
News
£10,000 legal row over English-only parking charge notice continues
THE LANGUAGE campaigner Toni Schiavone will appear in court in Aberystwyth for the fourth time on Monday, 13 May over his refusal to pay an English-only parking charge notice, after the parking company One Parking Solution won an appeal to reintroduce the case in January.
This is despite the judge, Gareth Humphreys, warning that the company should carefully consider the value of continuing with a case that has already been “long, beyond unfortunate” and has cost the parking company over £10,000 in legal fees to date.
Cymdeithas yr Iaith have called on the court to rule that English-only parking charge notices are insufficient as ruled by the judge Mervyn Jones-Evans in a recent case in Caernarfon, and on the Welsh Government to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers in the private sector are respected.
Toni Schiavone received the English-only notice for not paying for parking in a car park in Llangrannog in September 2020.
The original case was thrown out of court in May 2022 because a representative from the parking company was not present, and the second case in August 2023 was also thrown out because the case was presented late and under incorrect rules.
On 26 January this year, One Parking Solution won an appeal enabling them to continue prosecuting Mr Schiavone, after the judge ruled that there were no grounds to throw the first two cases out of court.
Speaking at the hearing in January, Toni Schiavone said he had received a letter with costs of £10,156.70 a the day before from One Parking Solution, and that the company had acted “disrespectfully, unreasonably and vindictively.” According to research by Cymdeithas yr Iaith, translating the notice into Welsh would have cost only £60.
Siân Howys, Chair of Cymdeithas yr Iaith’s Welsh Language Rights Group said:
“It is disappointing that One Parking Solution have decided to resubmit this case, but the real reason Toni must appear in court yet again is because the rights of people who live in Wales to use the Welsh language are not ensured in statute. We have seen other cases of this recently as HSBC and the energy company OVO have weakened or even abolished their Welsh-medium services, without any serious response from our Government.
“We call on our members and supporters to be present on 13 May to support Toni, and to demand that the right to use the Welsh language in all aspects of life is respected through legislation.”
On 30 January, the Welsh Government voted against Heledd Fychan MS’s motion on behalf of Plaid Cymru in the Senedd to set Welsh Language Standards on a statutory basis for institutions in the private sector, such as banks, supermarkets and private car parks.
During the debate, Siân Gwenllian MS referred to Toni Schiavone’s case as an example of the need to legislate to ensure the rights of Welsh speakers. Discussing the parking company, she said:
“Once again, the response is arrogant and insulting.
“Why must Welsh speakers continue to campaign and demand services through the medium of Welsh?
“It is high time that the basic rights of Welsh speakers were respected through statute, and that in all aspects of life.”
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