News

Health Board appeal for public to look after family members at home to ease demands

Published

2 years ago

August 25, 2022

HYWEL DDA HEALTH BOARD has appealed to the public to look after their family members at home in order to free up beds for more critically ill patients.

The Health Board has said there is currently an unprecedented demand on care services across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

In a statement, they have asked members of the public to look after their loved ones at home or to take a family member, who is in hospital and waiting to be discharged, home in order to free up beds to try and ease the demands.

The Health Board said the demand is leading to significant delays in care provision which is in turn leading to leading to significant bed shortages and lengthy ambulance waits at A&E departments, which also means that paramedics are unable to respond to other 999 calls in the community.

Social care and health teams are doing everything possible to support people who are well enough to leave hospital but need ongoing care.

Priority is being given to the most vulnerable, and alternative health and care packages are being offered as a short-term measure. More carers and health staff are also being recruited to support people in need.

The Health Board has said that spending as little time in hospital is better for patients and means that NHS beds can be freed up for others with urgent care needs.

Supporting older patients to get home from hospital efficiently is an important part of their recovery and it also protects them from negative consequences of hospital admission, such as hospital acquired infection, falls and a loss of independence.

A spokesperson for the Health Board said: “If you have a relative or loved one in hospital who is well enough to go home, but is waiting to be discharged with homecare and / or community health support, please consider if you may be able to help them to get home more quickly – you and your family may be in a position to support them at home.

“If your relative is waiting for a formal package of care, you may be able to offer support and care on a short term, temporary arrangement or you might want to consider whether your loved one could be supported in a temporary residential or nursing care setting.

“If you feel that this is an option that you could consider, please speak to the ward manager or your social worker to explore further.”

To help alleviate pressures at hospital sites, a number of Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC) units have been opened, which you may be referred to if you have a condition that can be seen and treated quickly.

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience, Mandy Rayani, said: “We are dealing with a combination of high numbers of attendances, particularly in our Emergency Departments, and challenges in health professional staffing.

“Our GP practices and hospitals are busy and while many of the COVID regulations have been removed, we still need to follow specific requirements for the safe treatment of those patients with COVID-19 and those without.

“We are working with our local authorities as there are difficulties in discharging some patients due to similar staffing challenges the social care sector is facing. This means we have very limited beds available to accommodate patients who need admission.

“Our teams are helping patients by their clinical priority, but this does mean that in some cases, waits in our Emergency Departments are hours long and far in excess of what we would strive to deliver.

“If you need medical help, please think carefully about the services you choose.”

If you are unwell and unsure what to do, you can visit the online symptom checker to cross-check your symptoms against a number of common ailments and if directed call NHS 111.

Only attend an Emergency Department if you have a life-threatening illness or serious injury, such as:

Severe breathing difficulties
Severe pain or bleeding
Chest pain or a suspected stroke
Serious trauma injuries (eg. from a car crash)

If you have a less serious injury then please visit a Minor Injury Unit. They can treat adults and children over 12-months of age, with injuries such as:

Minor wounds
Minor burns or scalds
Insect bites
Minor limb, head, or face injuries
Foreign bodies in the nose or ear

There are minor injury or walk-in services at Cardigan Integrated Care Centre, and Tenby Hospital.

Many community pharmacies can also provide walk-in, common ailment or triage and treat services without an appointment.

A spokesperson concluded: “Your support not only helps your loved one, but it is a huge support to the NHS and social care services as well.

“Please help us to make our service safer by sharing this information with friends and family.”

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Welsh Lib Dems urge First Minister to return dodgy donation

Published

5 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

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.”

News

Council seeking legal advice to address Withyhedge enforcement

Published

5 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

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.”

News

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

Published

8 hours ago

May 2, 2024

Tom Sinclair

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 30^th, 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