No need to cancel ops if community hospitals had stayed open says doctor

Operations would not have been cancelled had the Health Board kept community hospital beds open.

 

That is the view of Dr Phil White, secretary of the North Wales Medical Committee.

 

On Tuesday the Health Board announced that they would cancel non-emergency operations this week in their three district general hospitals, claiming that increased pressure for urgent care has placed added strain on the hospitals. The Health Board said that many of their patients were elderly and frail which has meant them staying in hospital for longer which has increased calls for hospital beds.

 

Dr Phil White, speaking on BBC Radio Cymru said that doctors had said that this would happen from the start, and that the Health Board had not listened to their warnings. He added that the Health Board had cut the number of beds but had not put other provisions in place. He said: “This is not something that’s happened over night, we’ve been warning about this for nearly five years because of the fall in the number of available beds”.

 

His comments were echoed by health campaigners in the Dee Valley.

 

Mabon ap Gwynfor of Keep Llangollen Health Services said: “This is why we didn’t want to see the Health Board close Llangollen hospital. It’s not because we want to keep out-dated buildings, but because we want to see a first lass health service provided to the people of this area.

 

“We warned them that closing Llangollen hospital beds would put pressure on Wrexham Maelor. We warned them that added pressure due to community bed closures would result in superbug and Norovirus outbreaks. And we warned them that patients would have to travel further away from their family and friends. This has all happened within less than a year of the hospital’s closure.

 

“We welcome the development of a much needed new health centre in Llangollen, but not at the expense of losing hospital beds. We continue to call for hospital beds to be included in the new development.”

 

107 positive tests in Christmas drink drive campaign

Over 460 drivers in Wales were caught over the drink drive limit during the All Wales Christmas Anti Drink and Drug Driving Campaign.

 

Throughout the month-long campaign 35,255 drivers throughout Wales were breath tested between 1^st December 2013 and 1^st January 2014.

 

North Wales Police carried out 18,159 breath tests with 107 being positive. In Dyfed Powys a total of 11,281 breath tests were carried out, with 161 being positive. In Gwent officers tested 2,470 drivers, with 39 being positive, and South Wales Police administered 3,345 tests with 158 positive results.

 

Some of the highest readings recorded during the campaign in North Wales were 133, 129 and 124 – the legal limit is 35 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. All three individuals have been charged and have appeared/are due to appear before the courts.

 

The campaign was launched with support from the family of Kieran Lea Arnold, who was tragically killed following a road traffic collision by a drink driver who was twice the legal limit last June.

 

The 21-year-old plumber sustained fatal injuries during the two-vehicle collision which happened on the A541 Pontblyddyn to Caergwrle road.

 

As a result of the collision 48-year-old Robert Bryn Williams was sentenced to five years four months imprisonment and was banned from driving for three years.

 

Speaking on behalf of the Welsh forces, Deputy Chief Constable Gareth Pritchard said: “Although warnings were issued throughout the campaign 465 drivers throughout Wales chose to ignore those warnings by risking their own lives and the lives of others by breaking the law. This is very disappointing.

 

“It is also astonishing to see that some were almost four times the legal limit. It is clear that these individuals showed a complete disregard for the safety of other road users as well as their own.

 

“Driving with excess alcohol or under the influence of drugs is not just a criminal offence but also completely unacceptable. 

 

He added: “However, drink driving is not just about Christmas. It ruins lives all year round. Perpetual drink drivers will choose to drink and drive any day of the year so we need support from the public 365 days a year to help us take these people off the roads of Wales.”

 

If you have information relating to someone you think is driving whilst under the influence of alcohol or drugs, please contact North Wales Police on 101 or via Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. In an emergency always dial 999.

HSBC bank building goes on market at £275,000

* The bank building in Bridge Street which is now on the market.

After local campaigners failed in their attempts to keep it open as a bank, the building currently occupied by the HSBC bank in Llangollen has now gone on the market for £275,000.

In the marketing material agents Legat Owen describe it as “an imposing, detached former HSBC Bank arranged on basement, ground, first and second floors.”

The description adds:  “The property has a host of original features and is Grade II listed.

“The property benefits from a self contained ground floor retail/A2/Office accommodation with separate access to the side to the basement and upper floor residential accommodation. To the rear of the property there is a sizeable garden, which overlooks the River Dee.”

The sales information goes on: “The property is available by way of  a new full repairing and insuring lease at a rent of £15,000 per annum or alternatively the freehold is available at £275,000.”

Legat Owen says that property’s rateable value is £9,500, rates payable (13/14) are £4,408 and that the residential element is within Council Tax Band A.

Skates to meet council chief over Plas Madoc

CLWYD South AM Ken Skates says he will ask Wrexham Council bosses to ensure every option available is explored to keep Plas Madoc Leisure Centre open.

Labour AM Mr Skates will meet council leader Neil Rogers on February 7, and has vowed to raise his constituents’ concerns over the planned closure.

He said: “Many of my constituents have certainly made their feelings known about the council’s proposals for Plas Madoc, and I am now looking forward to sitting down and discussing what options are available.

“I am a regular user of the centre and I know many people in Clwyd South and further afield would be sad to see it close.

“Councils don’t take this type of major decision lightly, and authorities across Wales are being put under severe pressure because of the UK Government’s austerity measures. However, I am still hopeful we can find an alternative and keep the facility open.”

Planned hospital surgery suspended

UPDATED STORY ...

All routine planned non-emergency surgery across North Wales has been suspended due to what has been described as "increased pressure".

The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said the move affects Wrexham Maelor hospital, Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and Glan Clwyd in Bodelwyddan.

For more details on the story see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25830185

* Commenting on the announcement, Aled Roberts, Assembly Member for North Wales, said: 

“This announcement is very worrying.  The Welsh Labour Government had previously said that it was confident that winter plans were in place.  However, these plans are not holding up well at all. 

 

“This is yet further evidence that Betsi Cadwaladr health board is under an immense amount of pressure and that it is really struggling.

 

“Recent figures have shown that Betsi Cadwaladr is the worst performing health board in Wales with regards to patient waiting times.  Many patients are already waiting too long until they receive treatment, it’s therefore a concern that many will now have to wait even longer.

 

“This announcement has been very sudden.  It is essential that if the health board is considering extending the suspension of services beyond next Monday, then patients are informed as soon as possible.

 

“Not only is Betsi Cadwaladr the worst performing health board on waiting times, but this is a problem that has been growing every month since March of last year - there has been a 7% increase in those waiting for more than 6 months and a 4% increase for those waiting over 9 months in the most recent figures released last week for November 2013.

 

“With over 4,330 patients waiting more than 9 months until treatment in the Betsi Cadwaladr area, which is roughly 30% of the figure for the whole of Wales, there clearly is a major problem in the North which can only grow significantly after the cancellation of all non-emergency operations this week.

 

“There seems little chance of meeting the Welsh Government’s target of having just 5% waiting more than six months for treatment and nobody waiting over 9 months.”

* Plaid Cymru’s North Wales AM Llyr Gruffydd said: “This announcement of opera tions being cancelled will do nothing to ease the growing sense of crisis at Betsi Cadwaladr and the NHS in the North. The recent tragic case of Mr Fred Pring highlighted yet again the delays ambulances are encountering in trying to get patients into hospitals.

 

 “Plaid Cymru made it clear that last year’s closure of community hospital beds would put more and more pressure on the main three hospitals and we now see that Glan Clwyd, Bangor and Wrexham are unable to cope with increased seasonal demand and a growing ageing population. The message to GPs confirms that prolonged hospital admissions are causing bed blocking. How many of these patients could and should be moving out to community hospital beds?

 

“This latest cancellation of surgery just postpones the problem and creates further backlog. I don’t know to what extent this is a knee-jerk reaction to Mr Pring but it’s high time that the Welsh Health Minister got a grip of the situation here in North Wales.

 

“We want to see an improved Welsh Health Service here. For that to happen, senior management need to understand that the tickbox target culture can sometimes have unforeseen consequences outside their own narrow silo of responsibility. The Health Minister should intervene before a bad situation becomes worse.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, spokesman for the North Wales Health Alliance:  “The North Wales Health Alliance was formed last year in part to oppose the closure of community hospitals across the North. We warned then that the loss of more than 50 beds would put extra pressure on our district general hospitals. Now we see the ambulances parked outside for hours on end, patients unable to be discharged because there are no community beds and on top of this operations being cancelled. When will health bosses start listening to people?

 

“Since then we’ve had a new health minister, a new chief executive and a new chairman of Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board. But we’re still facing the same problems because none of them have so far tackled the underlying problems within the health service in the North.”

 

Hospital appointment becomes seven hour marathon

A LLANGOLLEN man has complained to Wales’s Health Minister about a gruelling ordeal which he says saw a simple outpatients’ appointment take almost seven hours due to problems with hospital transport.

Well-known local campaigner Martin Crumpton claims the experience has caused his already delicate health to deteriorate further and left him “in dread” of his next appointment later this month. 

The Welsh Ambulance Service has now begun an official investigation.

As a category C2 patient needing two people to lift himself and his wheelchair in and out of an ambulance, Mr Crumpton was collected by a two-man ambulance crew from his home at 9.45am on January 6 to be taken to his 10.30am appointment at Wrexham’s Maelor Hospital where he had treatment to diabetic foot ulcers.

As the result of a delay of over three hours in being picked by hospital transport, he didn’t arrive home until 3.30pm that day by which time he says he was heading for a diabetic hypoglycemic attack.

 

He said: “I arrived there on time and was seen within 15 minutes. The treatment ended at 11.20am and hospital transport was notified I was ready to go home immediately.

“The podiatrist saw I was still waiting and called them again at 12 noon. Their response was an apologetic one-hour delay, with my pick-up at 2pm.

 

“At 2.10pm, seeing I was still there, they called again. I was then, finally, picked up at 2.40pm by a crew who said they'd only just been assigned.

“They told me that their control had been making significant errors co-ordinating the crews throughout the day. I finally arrived home at 3.30pm.

 

“The round trip has taken six hours and 45 minutes for an out-patients' appointment lasting 40 minutes.”

 

Mr Crumpton added: “The whole time I was hunched-up in my wheelchair with pressure on my feet, specifically the thing I should not be doing.

“During my extended wait, the small amount of food all sensible diabetics carry was not adequate and I was heading for a hypo.

 

“As if that wasn't enough, as a heart failure patient on daily doses of diuretics, I needed assistance to be wheeled to a toilet which was ill-equipped to accommodate a wheelchair user due to it layout and small size.

 

“Once home, I was fed urgently, given a morphine compound and painkillers. But the pain  continued throughout the night, keeping me awake for four hours.

“I have another appointment on January 20 and I quite dread another long wait.

“The district nurse confirms that following my visit to the hospital my foot ulcers have been damaged as well as my already-damaged achilles heels.

 

“What I've learned from staff I see regularly, and often on a first-name basis, is that the Welsh Ambulance Service is severely understaffed. 

“Staff are retiring and there is no recruitment to replace them. The non-emergency ambulances are, in a few cases, quite decrepit.”

In a letter of complaint to Health Minister Mark Drakeford, he says:  “All this, Minister, is wholly down to underfunding and I'm willing to wager with you that this now-deplorable service contributes significantly to patient dissatisfaction figures.

 

“They also tell me that ambulances queue four to five deep at hospitals all over North Wales on a daily basis, and as we left the Maelor on January 6, I saw five waiting myself.” 

A Welsh Ambulance Service spokesperson said: “Our Patient Care Service (PCS) makes more than 1 million journeys every year, providing non-emergency transport to routine hospital appointments in England and Wales for 4,000 patients a day.

“As part of our ambitious modernisation and clinical transformation programme, Working Together for Success, we have made a firm commitment to provide a high quality, planned Patient Care Service which is valued by users, and have seen a number of improvements over the year, including the improved timeliness of our service.

“In 2013, we replaced 14 of our Patient Care Service vehicles in North Wales, and anticipate the delivery of further vehicles in the coming weeks. We are also in the process of recruiting more than a dozen new Patient Care Service staff in North Wales.

“We are disappointed to hear of the patient’s concern on this occasion and have contacted them directly to ensure their future transport arrangements run as smoothly as possible.

“A formal concern has been received in relation to this case, and we will be responding directly to the patient once we have looked into the matter in more detail.”

Railway steams into another exciting year

* Volunteers celebrate the latest Llangollen Railway milestone. 

After the golden moment on December 27 when the two lengths of rail were joined at Bonwm, another grand occasion for Llangollen Railway came for volunteers on January 2 when a ballast train ran from Carrog to Bonwm. 

For the first time since the scrapman’s train came through in 1968/69, a diesel locomotive and train paused at the site of the former Bonwm Halt.

Later it proceeded west of underpass bridge 28 to drop stone on the newly-laid track.

Volunteers celebrated with a group photograph in front of the class 26 locomotive No.D5310 at the end of its run. 

The contractors finished repairs to the brick arch and abutments of the over bridge in early January and the scaffolding was dismantled, although some final pointing of the lower layers remains to be done. 

This opens up the way west for the final half mile of track into the Corwen station site and will involve the laying of 46 panels of rail. 

Track laying depends on the provision of further supplies of concrete sleepers and fittings, as well as base ballast, and sources for these are being investigated for early delivery.

Good support has been received for the Sleeper Appeal organised by volunteer Paul Bailey and the appeal remains open for further contributions towards the £20,000 target.

Pending further track laying the volunteers are hard at work clearing the over grown vegetation on the sides of the cutting beyond Bridge 28A and on the final approach into the station site. Bridge 29 has been rebuilt to provide pedestrian access to the riverside nature reserve.

The access on site of the contractors for the Corwen Flood Alleviation Scheme to provide an outflow into the River Dee neared completion in early January.

Restatement of the level at the location of the former bridge 30, where out flow pipes were installed, is now complete and has allowed renewal of vehicle access from the Corwen end on to the trackbed.

On January 15 the railway’s contractors marked out the locations of the footings for the bases of the five coach length platform.

Excavations on the embankment quickly began and, with concrete being poured, completion due in week ending January 24.

Completion of this section is dependent on the provision of materials and the continuing spell of mild weather.

Based on past performance, half a mile of track can be laid by the volunteer workforce in approximately 12 work days, equating to six weeks, once the base ballast is laid and sleepers are distributed along the length. 

The application of resources, both manpower and financial, are the key elements to the completion of this project.

If you wish to help, your donation for the Corwen Sleepers Appeal can be made by cheque, payable Llangollen Railway Trust Ltd, and addressed to: Mr P Bailey. Dolwen, Bryneglwys, Corwen, Denbs, LL21 9LY. Gift Aiding your donation will add to the financial benefit obtained.

Bus timetable changes announced

Some bus times affecting Llangollen are changing with effect from Monday, January 27. They are:

5:  Wrexham - Corwen and X5: Corwen - Ruthin|

There is an additional journey on Mondays to Saturdays from Wrexham at 13.45 via Llangollen (14.19) to Corwen (arriving 13.39). The bus continues as service X5 to Ruthin.

The 07.30 X5 from Corwen to Ruthin & Denbigh operates Mondays to Fridays, but operates at 07.35 during school holidays. It also runs on Saturdays at 07.35.

The 08.10 X5 from Corwen to Ruthin operates Mondays to Saturdays throughout the year.

64, 64A: Llangollen - Ceiriog Valley|

All journeys from the Ceiriog Valley and Chirk towards Llangollen operate one minute earlier from all stops between Chirk and Llangollen.

The 08.55 from Chirk is unchanged.

The 18.25 from Llanarmon DC will now depart two minutes later.

All journeys from Llangollen towards Chirk operate one minute earlier from Chirk.

X94: Barmouth - Corwen - Llangollen - Wrexham|

This service is now being run by a different operator, and the times have changed.  

 

You can view the changes at:|

https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/resident/parking-roads-and-travel/public-transport-information/bus-changes-timetable-x94.pdf

All buses are serving Llangollen Parade Street and Ruabon Station Approach.

 

Council merger proposals unveiled

Denbighshire could join with Conwy and Wrexham with Flintshire under plans to merge local councils in Wales outlined in a report today.

For the full report see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-25776603

Well-known doctor backs save plas Madoc campaign

The campaign to save Plas Madoc's leisure facilities has been backed by prominent local doctor Peter Saul.

In a message of support to the Save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre campaign the Rhos-based GP said: "I'm sorry and concerned to hear of proposals for closure of Plas Madoc. I am very worried that services for local people will not be maintained.  We use the centre for exercise referrals which serve an important function.

"I think the council must have in place:

1) Facilities to suport health, wellbeing and recovery from illness.

2)These should be accessable to people in the Rhos, Penycae, Johnstown and Ruabon areas.

3) the network of professionals supporting these activities should be maintained."


Darrell Wright, from the Save Plas Madoc Leisure Centre campaign, said: "What is becoming more and more obvious as our campaign gathers momentum is the knock-on effects this planned closure would have for
the health of our communities.

 "Many people have contacted us to say how important Plas Madoc's unique facilities are for their fight for fitness or health. Now we have a local GP saying loud and clear that the centre is vital for referrals.

 "It's high time the council looked beyond the pounds and pence of this matter and saw the wider impact their decisions will have on health, wellbeing and community life. How much extra will it cost the
NHS not to have these facilities in place?"
The campaign, which organised a huge demonstration outside the leisure centre last week, is gearing up for another big turnout outside the Guildhall in Wrexham on February 4 at 1pm, when the council discusses its options before making a final decision.

Llan resident's letter to Health Minister

Below is a copy of a letter sent by Llangollen resident Martin Crumpton to Wales' Health Minister Mark Drakeford about a looming cut to his benefits.

 

 

Dear Mr Drakeford,

 

Is this my punishment at having the temerity to complain about the dire state of hospital transport in North Wales? While I await the considered reply you personally promised me on Twitter, something else has occurred which I’d like to draw your attention to.

 

On December 24th 2012, just over a year ago, my GP and he Heart Failure Team at Wrexham Maelor Hospital told me I had six months left to live. Though happily still alive, I face an uncertain future and chronic cardiac failure combined with many other disorders, including an extremely rare genetic defect is a formidable obstacle. Since I cannot walk or even stand for more than a couple of minutes, I have the district nurse every two days to change the dressings on my ulcerated feet and need a two-man ambulance crew to get me and my wheelchair from home to ambulance and back when I make my fortnightly appointments with the diabetic ulcer podiatrist, the letter I received today from the DWP came as a surprise (attached).

 

It seems they regard me as capable of work and my benefits will be curtailed in just a few weeks’ time to below a level I can survive on. I’m already in fuel poverty and have had to choose between eating and heating. It seems I must attend interviews.

 

Of course, there’s an appeals procedure, but the stark reality is, as so many have discovered, the benefit cuts happen quickly but the appeals take six months or more to be heard. This leaves me in a most invidious position. I already have to sleep in a Red Cross hospital bed in my living room because I cannot climb stairs.to be with my wife – should I decamp entirely to a hospital ward and watch my wife suffer further as her Carer’s Allowance is stopped?

 

I am now quite relieved that the Ambulance Service’s “Putting Things Right Team” wanted to examine my medical history, despite wondering what possible relevance that has on the dreadful waits for Hospital Transport when no form of triage is conducted when booking them except to determine if I qualify for it.

 

Minister Drakeford, is it too much to ask for swift intervention from you before I’m forced into NHS care, separated from my beloved wife and back into clinical depression? (It’s in my medical notes, along with my deformed spine, diabetes, cardiac and degenerative mitochondrial myopathies, neurological memory disorder, fallen arches and muscle atrophy among others.) Perhaps you could find me some decent work from home for the Welsh Assembly Government, and I’m skilled with English and IT. I’d love to be independent from benefits and bureaucratic insensitivity.

 

With kind regards,

 

Martin Crumpton

Llan panto does popular turn again with Dick Whittington

Last year it was a tribe of Welsh Red Indians, this year it was a French dame.

Llangollen Pantomime Society always manages to come up with something a little different for each subsequent production.

The latest show, a lavish and often hilarious version of the classic Dick Whittington, was certainly no exception.

Once again the Pavilion’s big stage was taken over by a huge contingent of talented performers, from tiny tots to those who now count as panto virtuosos.

One of the attractions of panto is that various groups can interpret it in any way they choose and this one from Llan was certainly novel.

As always, the plot is hardly significant and traditionally has more holes in it that a well-worn pair of principal boy’s tights. But this Dick Whittington seemed to make quite a bit of sense.

Our hero, Dick, turns up on stage at the end of a neat little short film, beamed on to an enormous backdrop, which shows him progressing from his start-point in Acrefair – meagre baggage tied to a stick – via every pub en route.

After arriving in Llangollen, where most of the action is set, he soon meets up with Alice, the pretty young daughter of Alderman Fitzwarren, who naturally becomes the object of his desires.

Dick is usually played by a girl but this one definitely benefitted by being portrayed by panto old hand Dean Richards, who has the ready ability to get his audience on his side and can sing a bit too.  Olivia Dentobn, who took the role of Alice, is very young but was still sweetly accomplished.

Nico Decourt helped pen last year’s Peter Pan but this year swapped his laptop for a false bra and big wig to display his undoubted talents as Sarah, who works in the Fitzwarren kitchen.

In a naughty but nice way he made the most of his genuine French accent to bring a highly unusual touch of ooh la la! to the role of the dame, traditional main pivot for panto fun.   

Helping Nico to keep the action purring briskly along was the talented Jo Potts as Tommy, Dick’s talking cat, another singer of note.

At one point in the plot Dick and his crazy entourage have to take a voyage to a far off foreign land – this time Memphis where they meet up with the Sultan who looks and sounds uncannily like Elvis thanks to an accomplished performance by Gez Harrocks.

Another neat cameo came from Tracey Rawlinson as Queen Neptune, who also skilfully played a couple of other parts.

Prompting a suitable chorus of boos at her every appearance was Justine Bradley as baddie Atticus Ratticus, queen of the rat pack, who has designs on becoming mayor of Llangollen but sees her evil intentions thwarted in the nick of time by Dick and his team.

Helping them achieve a happy ending is Fairy Liquid played with aplomb by Tess Orton-Jones.

The role of Alderman Fitzwarren is usually played by a man but this time was presented very competently by Jo Pearson.

The jokes came agreeably thick and fast and the songs, like Village People’s In the Navy, engaged the audience to just the right degree, helped by a brilliant six-strong band ensconced at the back of the stage.

The whole thing, which ran from Wednesday to Saturday at the Pavilion, including a matinee on the final day, was a credit to director Simon Orton-Jones and the large team of helpers behind the scenes. 

 

AM calls for NHS staff sickness to be tackled

NORTH Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood has called on the Welsh Government to address the causes of staff sickness in the Welsh NHS.

 

This comes after a Freedom of Information request this month revealed that thousands of NHS Wales employees haven taken more than seven days sickness absence because of mental health conditions in the past three years.

 

Questioning the Health Minister over the revelations in the Assembly Chamber this week, Mr Isherwood asked what action the Welsh Government is taking to support NHS staff.

 

He said: “Organisations with effective staff development and performance management are those with lower absenteeism and sickness rates. Yet, you will be aware that the results of a freedom of information request published this month show that almost 10,000 NHS Wales members of staff have been off for more than a week through stress, anxiety and depression since 2011. A third of those were in Betsi Cadwaladr University Local Health Board.

 

“Given the concerns raised in the Wales Audit Office report on NHS finances and the Wales Audit Office and Healthcare Inspectorate Wales report on corporate governance in Betsi Cadwaladr, what action is the Welsh Government taking to ensure that those effective staff development procedures are implemented to support the staff affected?”

 

The Minister said the issue of sickness levels in the Welsh NHS is matter of concern to him. 

 

He said: “It varies from place to place as the Member identified. There are LHBs in Wales that do better in this area than others. We have services in Wales, occupational health services, that work within the NHS to assist staff. There is no doubt that the impact of austerity is felt in the lives of people who work in the NHS. There is no wonder that, sometimes, those pressures come with them into the workplace. However, the Welsh Government is fully engaged in this agenda, working at a senior level to assist our local health boards to address it actively.”

 

Mr Isherwood added: “High levels of sickness absence are an indicator of a sick management culture and we should be tackling the causes of sickness rather than simply treating the symptoms.”

Christmas Festival hands over £750 to Hope House

* Members of the Llangollen Christmas Festival organising committee went along to the new Hope House Children’s Hospice charity bookshop in the town to hand over a cheque for £750 raised during last year’s seasonal event to the hospice. Pictured, from left, are John Palmer, Ian Parry, town crier Austin Cheminais, hospice area fundraiser Andrew Fergus and town clerk Gareth Thomas. 

Tragedy in Carrog bungalow fire

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service received a report of a fire in a bungalow in Carrog near Corwen at 3.29pm today  (Thursday).

A fire service statement says: "Crews from Llangollen used two sets of breathing apparatus and one hose reel jet to enter the property.

"Sadly, the body of a 93-year-old female was found in the property.

"A joint investigation by North Wales Fire and Rescue Service and North Wales Police is now underway.

"There are no more details available at present."

County approves budget proposals

Denbighshire's Cabinet has approved the budget proposals which will now go before full council for final agreement at the end of the month.

The Draft Local Government Settlement indicates the cuncil will have to find in the region of £8.5m in savings for 2014/15.

The budget process so far has resulted in savings of £1.7m, which were approved by members in September plus a further £4.7m, which again was approved in December.

This latest phase identifies a further £2m in savings.

Cabinet Lead Member for finance, Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill said: "Denbighshire really has had a tight budget settlement from the Welsh Assembly Government - the lowest in Wales for 2014/15.

"At all times we have attempted to protect frontline service and jobs whilst minimising the impact of council tax increases to our residents.

"We will continue to look at all services to see if we can be more efficient in the way in which we work, whilst maintaining the best possible services for the people of Denbighshire."

Cabinet has agreed to recommend to Full Council an increase in Band D Council tax of 3.5% for 2014/5. The exact amount will be formally approved by Full Council on 27th January.

Attempted armed robbery outside Morrison's

North Wales Police are appealing for witnesses following an attempted robbery outside Morrison’s supermarket in Ruthin Road, Wrexham earlier today (Thursday).

Officers attended the scene after thieves attempted to force their way into a security van visiting the store.

 

Detective Sergeant Ros Hewitt at Wrexham CID said:  “At about 6.45 this morning a security van visiting the store was attacked by two men who attempted to force their way into the vehicle.  The alarm was quickly raised and the offenders fled empty handed.  Fortunately no one was injured during this incident.

 

“Descriptions of the offenders and the number involved are still being ascertained however we are very keen to hear from anyone who was in the area at the time and saw any suspicious persons or vehicles to contact police immediately.”

 

Anyone with information relating to this incident is asked to contact North Wales Police on 101 or alternatively contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 quote reference R007189.

Hoteliers focus on arts to promote Llan hotel

* (l to r) Artist Cordelia Weedon, Gweno Evans of Art in Business,

artist Jessica Lloyd-Jones, hotel owners Gavin Harris and Chris Frost.

 

Two award-winning hoteliers are focusing on the arts as an effective way of promoting their new business in Llangollen.

Gavin Harris and Christopher Frost have commissioned a light installation artist and a photographer to produce works for their new boutique hotel and restaurant in the town.
They are running the six-bedroom boutique Manorhaus alongside the long-established Ruthin hotel of the same name.

The pair have a track record of working with Arts & Business (A&B) Cymru, an organisation which facilitates mutually beneficial partnerships between business and the arts.

Gavin and Christopher have worked successfully with A&B Cymru in connection with their hotel in Ruthin and decided to join forces again in Llangollen.

As a result, A&B Cymru introduced local artist Jessica Lloyd-Jones who created designs based on patterns from the traditional woollen mill Melin Tregwynt in Pembrokeshire for the light installation and commissioned photographer Cordelia Weedon, from Llanfyllin, to produce exclusive black and white images of the town, to complement the distinctive architecture of the town.

Gavin explained: “We decided on a light installation to help make the building stand out but we wanted it to be subtle and in keeping with the town. We thought it would be so much better than basically throwing up a lot of modern, ugly, signs.

“We were impressed with Jessica's ideas particularly as she planned to use designs based on Melin Tregwynt patterns, such as the traditional Knot Garden design which we have on cushions and furnishings within the hotel.

“Llangollen is known for its black-and-white buildings so we wanted to carry that theme through the hotel. So we commissioned Cordelia to produce exclusive black-and-white images of the town.

“We didn’t want colour as it just wouldn’t have worked the same and we wanted unusual images of Llangollen showing the town from a different perspective. These framed photographs now hang in each room and really do compliment the Melin Tregwynt furnishings of the rooms.”

Christopher added: "I think art, architecture and interior design can really complement each other. Gavin and I really are passionate about art and believe by working together with A&B Cymru we can promote our business while showing off the very best art has to offer. 

“We are delighted with both Jessica and Cordelia’s work and are really pleased A&B Cymru co-invested in making these commissions possible.”

The project was highly commended in the Small Business Category at the 2013 A&B Cymru Awards.

Gwenno Angharad, the organisation's North Wales Manager, said: “The judges, quite rightly congratulated Christopher and Gavin on their success in integrating art into their business.

“The results are stunning and I’m delighted A&B Cymru was able to help enable Manorhaus Llangollen to commission artworks for the very first time. It has proved to be a wonderful collaboration.”

A&B Cymru works with businesses of all sizes to harness the creativity of the arts.

Gwenno added: “We offer an innovative and effective method of development to any business through our Arts @ Work which brings the skills, values and techniques of the arts into the workplace to inspire, enthuse and develop employees as well as building a stronger brand for the business.

“Arts and Business Cymru’s role, through our Arts @ Work scheme, is to promote partnerships between businesses and artists and to advise businesses on which artists and arts organisations will address their needs and to then broker a suitable partnership.”

Llangollen artist Jessica Lloyd-Jones says in designing the light installation she looked closely at the building and how light would interact with it.

She said: “I took inspiration from the Melin Tregwynt designs of the soft furnishings and cushions within the Manorhaus and came up with a simple but effective design. I also wanted to be able to alter the colour of the light used in the installation.

“For example it can be changed to red for Valentine’s Day. That gives the whole thing a sense of individuality.

“It’s fantastic they are thinking of art and working with artists to promote their business. Artists can work with business towards a common goal and I think we have demonstrated that with what we have achieved at Llangollen.”

Photographer Cordelia Weedon was thrilled to be commissioned to produce the black-and-white photography depicting Llangollen scenes used in the Manorhaus rooms.

She said: “I wanted to achieve a sense of place in the photographs I took of Llangollen. I identified certain locations and wanted to use winter light as the sun is lower in the sky and the trees are bare, so this often makes more interesting images.

“I tried to incorporate the patterns I found in the Llangollen architecture, so that the photographs would complement the furnishings and the décor of the rooms.

“I hope I managed to capture images of Llangollen that give the viewer a different perspective of the town, and I’m pleased at the way the framed photographs have been hung to compliment the Manorhaus Llangollen rooms. Although Jessica and I worked independently, I think aspects of our work link well together.  It’s great to have been working with people who appreciate the value of what the arts can contribute to businesses.”    

Anybody wanting more information about Arts & Business Cymru should contact Gwenno Angharad either by emailing her at  gwenno.angharad@aandbcymru.org.uk or by ringing her on 01492 574003. Alternatively you can go to the website:  www.aandbcymru.org.uk 

* Artist Cordelia Weedon.

AM's concerns over "longer" Welsh NHS waiting times

North Wales Assembly Member Mark Isherwood is concerned that patients in Wales are facing much longer waiting times in Accident and Emergency (A&E) than their counterparts across the border in England.

 

Latest figures for NHS England show that the A&E target was met over the busy Christmas and New Year period - with more than 95 per cent patients seen within four hours – and that 94.3% of patients were seen within four hours during the first week of 2014, only marginally below the 95% target.

 

In contrast, the latest available figures for devolved NHS Wales  (November 2013) revealed that just 89.6% of patients spent less than 4 hours in A&E.  

 

The last time NHS Wales met anything like NHS England’s performance was five years ago in August  2009, when  94.5% of patients were seen with the four hours target period.

 

Mr Isherwood said: “The people of Wales deserve better and the health of Wales demands better. England is producing these figures weekly, yet they are not available in Wales. Only proper transparency and accountability will raise public awareness and drive the change required, but the Labour Health Minister says instead that he will review his NHS targets. Given the worsening crisis in the Welsh NHS he must be afraid of public scrutiny.”

 

Figures published earlier this month also revealed that the number of people waiting longer than the Welsh Government’s nine month target for hospital treatment in Wales has reached its highest level in two years, with 13,269 people waiting longer than the target at the end of November - an increase of about 1,000 on the previous month and nearly 8,000 since March 2013.

 

The Welsh Labour Government has a target that no one should wait for longer than 9 months to access the treatment they need.

Work starts at Climedw site

* Earth-moving equipment moves on to the Climedw site.

Work started yesterday on a new factory for the Dobson & Crowther printing company at Climedw off the A5.

When building work is completed the printworks will move across the there, leaving the firm's present site to be developed with a new Sainsbury's supermarket.

A start on the Climedw aspect of the plan was welcomed by local county councillor Stuart Davies who said: "With over 200 jobs either being created or secured, it was what I saw when the project came before the planning committee.

"This development also opens up the rest of Cilmedw for more job creating facilities."

It is understood that an official turf-cutting ceremony could be held at Climedw later this month.

Police launch clampdown on serious crime

This month, North Wales Police are launching Operation Scorpion which will focus on tackling serious and organised crime in our communities.

 

DCS Wayne Jones, Head of Crime Services said: “Operation Scorpion will manage all types of serious and organised criminality including cross-border crime, armed robbery, criminal use of firearms, kidnapping or human trafficking as well as drug production, importation and supply.

 

"North Wales Police already has a well-established response to tackle this level of criminality. We have an excellent record of success in recent years seizing drugs, criminals assets and convictions, with substantial sentences handed out to criminals who took part in organised crime. North Wales Police will pursue organised criminal groups operating here relentlessly.

 

"One of the Operation’s aims is to keep the people of north Wales aware of the progress being made to tackle organised crime where they live, work and visit. It is intended to be a two way communication process and part of the launch is focused on encouraging the public to provide North Wales Police with information and to share their concerns about individuals or criminal groups."

 

He added: "We have an excellent record of working with our communities and very often that vital piece of information which helps us convict the criminals comes from the community. Those who are involved in serious and organised crime seldom do so quietly, they very often live well beyond their obvious means, drive expensive cars, live in large houses and are often out of the country. These are some of the clues that someone may be living on the proceeds of crime.

 

"If you know someone who fits this picture then we encourage you to contact Police 101 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 to support Operation Scorpion. Together we can tackle organised crime and ensure that north Wales remains one of the safest places in which to live."