Health
Tesco becomes first supermarket in Wales to join defibrillator network
TESCO has become the first supermarket in Wales to begin registering its defibrillators to a new national database that could improve cardiac arrest survival rates.
All six Tesco stores in Pembrokeshire have been equipped with the life-saving apparatus, the supermarket firm has confirmed.
With 110 defibrillators in Tesco stores across Wales and around 2,000 others registered in stores across the UK, it is the biggest single addition of defibrillators to the database so far.
The database, called The Circuit: the national defibrillator network, aims to map all defibrillators in locations such as supermarkets, train stations and offices, allowing ambulance services to direct bystanders to the nearest registered defibrillator in an emergency.
There are around 2,800 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in Wales each year, but only 1 in 20 people survive. This is partly because public-access defibrillators are used in less than 10 per cent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, with ambulance services often unaware of where they are located.
To help improve these stark survival rates, Tesco is in the process of registering its defibrillators in stores across Wales onto The Circuit, whilst installing hundreds more so that every Tesco store in Wales will have one. This means that if somebody is having a cardiac arrest in or around a Tesco store, the ambulance service will be able to direct 999 callers to the nearest available defibrillator which is registered on The Circuit.
Adam Fletcher, Head of BHF Cymru, said: “We’re thrilled that Tesco are registering all their defibrillators on The Circuit – this could help save lives in the years to come. By ensuring defibrillators are visible to ambulance services in the ultimate medical emergency, Tesco is providing an invaluable service to communities across Wales.
“By registering their defibrillators on The Circuit, Tesco will be joining the fight to improve survival rates. Currently, only 1 in 20 people survive an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in Wales, and every minute without CPR and defibrillation can reduce the chances of survival by up to 10%, so every second counts when someone has a cardiac arrest.
“We are now urging all organisations that own defibrillators, whether it’s just the one or several, to follow in Tesco’s footsteps by registering them on The Circuit. This simple action could save lives.”
Oonagh Turnbull, Head of Health Campaigns at Tesco, said: “We are proud to have been in partnership with British Heart Foundation since 2015, and we value the opportunity to collaborate. The Lifesavers programme is one of those opportunities. At Tesco, we are passionate about the active role we play in our communities, and in helping our customers when they need us most. By supporting The Circuit and registering all of our defibrillators so emergency services know where the nearest one is, more lives could be saved.”
The Circuit has been developed by the BHF in partnership with Resuscitation Council UK, St John Ambulance Cymru, and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives, including the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Ambulance services have previously had to rely upon multiple regional databases which had been labour-intensive to maintain. However, The Circuit is a pioneering sophisticated national database that synchronises every 60 seconds with the live dispatch systems of the UK’s ambulance services. This allows ambulance services to direct bystanders to the closest defibrillator in an emergency.
To ensure The Circuit achieves its ambitions, the founding health charities are urging all organisations with defibrillators to register them on the system. There are tens of thousands of defibrillators in locations unknown to the ambulance services, and the BHF has set a goal of seeing 70,000 new defibrillators registered across the UK before the end of the year.
Organisations can bulk upload all their defibrillators in one go. It’s free and quick and easy to do. For more information, please visit TheCircuit.UK
Health
Chairman opens new NHS 111 Wales Service Centre in Haverfordwest
IN a ceremonial occasion on Thursday (May 2), Thomas Baden Tudor, Chairman of Pembrokeshire County Council, inaugurated the new NHS 111 Wales service centre at Haverfordwest Ambulance Station. The event was marked by Mr. Tudor cutting the red ribbon, a task he was honoured to perform at the behest of Matthew Jones, Locality Manager of the Pembrokeshire Ambulance Service.
The NHS 111 service, which is accessible round the clock, offers urgent health advice and information about available services, including dental care and general medical guidance. This vital resource also provides support on managing illnesses and conditions and ensures continuity of care when GP offices are closed.
Speaking at the event, Mr. Tudor expressed his pride and privilege in participating in the launch, which underscores the community’s commitment to enhancing healthcare accessibility. The new service centre is expected to play a pivotal role in providing prompt medical advice and support to the residents of Pembrokeshire.
The service is free and can be reached by dialling 111 from any phone, ensuring essential healthcare advice is just a call away.
Health
Junior doctors secure strike extension in pay negotiations with WG
BMA Cymru Wales has confirmed a positive development in its pay negotiations announcing that Junior doctors have secured a three-month extension to their overwhelming strike mandate.
This means that junior doctors in Wales now have the right to enact industrial action over their pay until 17 September 2024 instead of 17 June when the mandate was due to run out.
Recognising the strength of feeling amongst junior doctors and the overwhelming 98% vote by members in favour of industrial action back in December 2023, employers have agreed to honour this extension to allow talks with the Welsh Government to continue.
Co-chairs of the Welsh Junior Doctor Committee Dr Oba Babs-Osibodu and Dr Peter Fahey said of this development:
“We are pleased to be able to secure an extension to our overwhelming strike mandate. Whilst we hope to put an end to our pay dispute through pay negotiations by reaching a credible deal and restoring our pay, it was important to secure more time for our mandate.
“The extension allows us to focus on talks but also provides us with the scope to get organised and enact our legal right to strike should we need to. This is about honouring the emphatic mandate of our members.
“Doctors have experienced real terms pay cut of almost a third since 2008. They voted overwhelmingly to put an end to the devaluing of their service, they know they are not worth a third less than their predecessors and they know the time is now to stick up for the profession and turn the tide of the continued erosion of their pay once and for all”.
The Welsh Government and NHS employers have agreed to the extension as part of ongoing pay negotiations where all parties hope to reach an end to the pay dispute with junior doctors, SAS doctors and Consultants in Wales.
Last month, BMA Cymru Wales announced it was suspending forthcoming industrial action for Consultants and SAS doctors and putting plans on hold to announce more strike dates for junior doctors to allow pay negotiations to take place*.
The decision to enter pay negotiations was based on a significant proposal from the Welsh Government to form the basis of talks to end the pay disputes with all secondary care doctors including Consultants, SAS, and Junior doctors, with the aim of reaching deals which can be taken separately to their respective members.
In August last year, the BMA’s committees representing secondary care doctors in Wales voted to enter separate trade disputes with the Welsh Government after being offered another below inflation pay uplift of just 5% for the 23/24 financial year. SAS doctors on some contracts were offered as little as 1.5%. This was the lowest pay offer any government in the UK offered and less than the DDRB, the pay review body for doctors and dentists, recommended last year.
As part of their disputes, SAS doctors, consultants and junior doctors carried out successful ballots for industrial action. Since then, junior doctors have taken part in 10 days of industrial action since January this year.
Community
Plea to save at-risk Anchorage day care centre
AN ONLINE plea to save a Pembrokeshire day centre from being closed has been lodged with the county council.
The Anchorage Day Care Centre in Pembroke Dock has been a “safe and happy place” for adults with learning difficulties and additional needs for decades.
In more recent years it has expanded to support elderly dementia sufferers.
But now the centre is expected to close, with services instead being offered elsewhere in the county, including Haverfordwest and Milford Haven.
A series of engagement events have taken place at The Anchorage recently, outlining the reasons and the options in continued service.
One parent, who wished to remain anonymous, said: “The parents and carers are all very upset at the way we have been treated, kept in the dark and then presented with what is a fait accompli to close the Anchorage, while at the same time going through the motions of a ‘consultation’ with us.
“The clients at The Anchorage have friendships with each other and staff going back decades in some cases.
“One young woman who attends ran out of the first meeting sobbing when she was told it was going to close. Another, at the second meeting, tried to address the meeting but was so chocked up at the thought of not seeing her friends anymore she could hardly speak.”
She added: “The Anchorage has been a respite in the day for parents and a safe, happy place for the clients.
“Everyone feels that the county council is not considering the feelings of the clients, most of whom are upset and frightened by change to their routine.”
Another person raising concerns said: “The centre is set to close as early as next month – meaning the sudden retraction of a service which, for many families in the area, is nothing short of a lifeline.
“I’m not sure PCC understand the gravity of the impact that closing the centre will have on the lives of many people, particularly the customers, some of whom may not understand or cope well with such a total upheaval of the familiarity of their daily routine.
“It’s so upsetting that the people who will be most affected by the closure of the centre are as much a part of the Pembrokeshire community as anybody else that the council claims to represent, and yet in this decision, I feel they’re not being seen as such.”
Since then, an online e-petition, on the council’s own website has been launched calling for it to stay open.
It says: “The centre provides day-care support to a number of vulnerable adults with varying levels of disability who are unable to process, and understand, the implications of such a decision.
“Some of those attending the centre have been doing so for over 20 years and continuity is a vital part of their lives. Removing this service will have nothing other than a huge detrimental impact on their health and mental wellbeing.”
The petition has attracted 284 signatures to date.
A Pembrokeshire County Council spokesman said: “Following the engagement sessions held with families and service users regarding the future of the centre on April 10 and 17 at the Anchorage, families said that they would like to maintain the Anchorage Day Centre and explained that they would write to the council in order to ask for the decision to be overturned.
“People who attend the service will be offered alternative care, all service users are currently having their individual care needs assessed by social work teams to fully understand which other services best meet those care needs.”
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