Council warns CHC over health changes

Councillors in Denbighshire will declare a vote of no confidence in the Community Health Council (CHC)E xecutive Board if it does not refer issues of concern to the Welsh Government Health Minister, Lesley Griffiths, by the March deadline .
Following a lengthy debate at a special meeting of the Full Council today members agreed to hold off from a vote of no confidence if the CHC agrees to refer two main areas of concern to the Minister, namely transition arrangements while new facilities are built and guarantees that capital funding will be in place for the new facilities, such as a primary care resource centre for Llangollen.

The moves come after a delegation of ten members met with senior health officials, including BCU Chief Executive, Mary Burrows on 8 February to discuss their concerns about the proposed changes to healthcare provision as part of the BCU consultation 'Healthcare in North Wales is Changing'.

Members discussed a range of concerns, which included a lack of guarantees coming forward from Welsh Government on capital funding and the provision of services throughout the transition period, transport implications and the future designation of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd as a district general hospital with specialist functions.
Other concerns included the potential for 'cost shunting' as more care is provided for people in the community which would inevitably impact on social care costs and plans for neonatal care for the most vulnerable babies to be provided at Arrowe Park over the border in England.

Cabinet Lead Member for health and social care, Councillor Bobby Feeley, said: "It is fair to say this consultation has been one of poor processes, misinformation and mishandling but we must We must continue to strive to get the best deal for the residents of Denbighshire.

"I fully understand the frustration of members, I feel the same, and we have seen by the way the Council has voted, we must do all we can to protect the interests of our residents.

"The CHC is the patient's watchdog but, clearly, we do not feel that the patient's interests are being best served by the proposals put forward by Betsi Cadwaladr University Healthboard. As the CHC is the only statutory body that can refer the issues to the Minister, that is where we must bring pressure to bear before taking the last step of a vote of no confidence in the CHC Executive Board."
At the end of the debate, members agreed to use the already established County Health and Social Care Forum as a mechanism to ensure continued dialogue and reporting back between Denbighshire and BCU. Members also noted progress made with respect to reassurances on the future of Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, and an agreement to work with public authorities to develop a transport plan.
Work will now begin on modelling the financial consequences of the proposed changes on the Council, especially Enhanced Care Services and Services for carers.

Ambulances perform well in county figures show

Welsh Government figures for last December show that ambulances operating in Denbighshire were amongst the best performing in Wales, attending 66.8% of emergency calls within eight minutes.

This compares favourably to the all-Wales average of 56%, is better than the target figure for unitary authority areas of 60%  and also exceeds the Wales-wide target of 65%.

Worst performing unitary authority area in the country was Rhondda Cynon Taf with just 43.5%.

Ambulances operating within the much wider Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area – which also includes Llangollen – reached 62% of cases within eight minutes compared to the target figure for health board areas of 60%.  

The figures show generally that ambulance responses to immediately life-threatening (category A) calls in Wales were missed for the eight successive month in January.

Figures published today show ambulances arrived on time in a little over 8,500 separate category A cases. There were more than 14,600 in all.

The Welsh Government’s statistics service highlights snow as a factor during January. The last time the 65 per cent category A target was met was in May last year.

The figures have been published on the day of a Welsh Conservative debate on the ambulance service in the National Assembly.

The group is calling on the government to:

• Increase the number of emergency ambulances operating in Wales.
• Ensure that Wales has an adequate network of ambulance stations across the country.
• Provide an assurance that the on-going Ministerial review of the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust will deliver improved response times.

A recent freedom of information response – obtained by the Welsh Conservatives – details the number of times ambulances arrived at a scene over one hour after an initial 999 call (identified as ‘category A’) was made. The target time is eight minutes.

 

Examples include:

• Overdose/poisoning in Rhondda Cynon Taf (one hour two minutes)
• Breathing problems in Vale of Glamorgan (one hour three minutes)
• Animal bites/attacks in Neath (one hour seventeen minutes)
• Assault/Sexual Assault in Neath (one hour eighteen minutes)
• Stab/Gunshot/Penetrating Trauma in Blaenau Gwent (one hour 59 minutes)
• Stroke – Cva in Rhondda Cynon Taf (two hours 36 minutes

Last month Welsh Conservatives revealed the number of ambulances in Wales had dropped from 256 to 244, while the number of ambulance stations had also decreased. Seven have been closed so far during 2012/13 (Queensferry, Flint, Mold, Reynoldston, Monmouth, Dolgellau and Maesteg). Just four had shut their doors in the previous four years.

Shadow Minister for Health Darren Millar AM will lead today’s debate.

 

He said: “Very little has changed in our ambulance service and patients can rightly be forgiven a sense of déjà vu.

“Despite the hard work of frontline staff, waits are still too long, targets mean little, and service performance lags behind other parts of the UK.

“Every minute lost can harm the chance of a patient’s recovery, potentially costing lives, and causing distress to everyone involved.

“The closure of local services is only adding to the pressure on staff and it’s vital that unnecessary NHS reorganisation is properly considered in the current review.

“Labour’s record-breaking NHS budget cuts have resulted in inappropriate reform, hold-ups in A and E, and the potential for far longer waits in the future.

“We need reassurances that the current ambulance service review will result in the real changes that are needed and the excellent service Wales deserves.”

Campaigner's letter on health service changes

Local campaigner MARTIN CRUMPTON has sent in this letter regarding health service changes in the area:

 

Second Class NHS for North Wales?

 

Betsi Cadwaladr Community Health Council decided to back the health board’s cuts, resulting in the closure of four community hospitals and centralising facilities like minor injury units, despite overwhelming opposition from patients and health care professionals who wanted it referred to the Minister.

 

Meanwhile, the Hywel Dda community health council have referred the same issues for their area to Lesley Griffiths, the Health Minister.

 

She now has a dilemma:

 

If she upholds Hywel Dda’s objection but doesn’t apply the decision nationally, she will create a two-tier NHS in Wales, with her own constituents in Wrexham falling into the second class category.

 

If she rejects Hywel Dda CHC’s objections, she will face accusations that her decision was made purely for political expediency in order to save face.

 

H er only viable course is to make her decision on behalf of all the health boards in Wales. Unless she acts speedily, that will be problematic too, since Betsi Cadwaladr has already begun implementing the closures, quickly and stealthily.

 

If she follows what the people and the staff of the NHS are demanding and stop the closures, she will have to obtain extra funding. If she doesn’t, she will have to face her own constituents.

 

From the very beginning, when the Welsh Government decided to cut funding for the NHS, the whole thing has become an omnishambles.

 

Martin Crumpton

Llangollen

Choir for peace to sing in Llan

 A choir will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Warrington bombing at an international festival dedicated to world peace and harmony.

 

The renowned Warrington Male Voice Choir (pictured right) will be competing at the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in the picturesque North Wales town.

 

In the years after the bomb outrage in the Cheshire town, which claimed the lives of two children – 12-year-old Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball, aged three - and left another 54 badly injured, the choir made numerous trips to sing in Ireland – both north and south of the border – in an attempt to aid the healing process.

 

Accompanying them on many of those momentous occasions was the choir’s Patron, the iconic peace champion Terry Waite, who is also President of the Llangollen Eisteddfod.

 

After the IRA bomb ripped through the centre of Warrington on March 20, 1993, the choir, which was established in 1898 and is one of the oldest and most highly acclaimed in England, readily answered the call to become involved in the Concerts for Reconciliation programme.

 

The choir performed on numerous occasions over the following years, both in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic, and rapidly became known as the Choir for Peace.

 

Mr Waite said: “When the Warrington bombing occurred I saw for myself the devastating impact it had upon a community unaccustomed to that level of violence.

 

“I was invited to become a Patron of the choir and gladly accepted.

 

“I have never been the sort of person to be content with simply having my name on headed notepaper. If I was to be Patron then I needed to contribute.

 

“A series of visits to Ireland was arranged by the choir and I accompanied them, taking the opportunity to promote the message of peace through the spoken word whilst the choir did the same through music.

 

“At the public concerts held right across Northern Ireland and in the Republic, in Roman Catholic Cathedrals and Orange Halls, the same message was delivered.

 

“People from all the different sections of society attended and found comfort and inspiration from the events.

 

“Many were deeply impressed that the people of Warrington showed no bitterness. They felt pain and made no secret of that fact but they were determined to turn the experience of acute suffering into something positive.

 

“Llangollen is a powerful example of how ordinary men and women - for the Eisteddfod is still organised in the main by volunteers - can make a positive difference in this war-torn world.”

 

Choir secretary Dave Knight, who was himself in the choir’s line-up throughout at the time of the bombing, period, said: “We sang in major venues on either side of the border, such as the National Opera House in Dublin and the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, but we also performed in many smaller venues, including churches of all denominations.

 

“One of the occasions I remember most was in 1996 when the choir was invited to take part in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Armagh, Ireland’s ecclesiastical centre.

 

“We became the first English group to receive such an honour and we enjoyed an unprecedented welcome on the street of Armagh. The choristers were presented with sprigs of shamrock by Cardinal Cahal Daly, Primate of All Ireland, which was a powerfully symbolic gesture.

 

“The choir also sang at Omagh in Northern Ireland in 1998, not long after the bombing there in which 29 people were killed and 220 were injured.

 

“That was an unforgettable experience because the streets were still badly damaged as a result of the bomb and we performed a song called Across the Bridge of Hope.

 

“Whenever and wherever we have sung in Ireland we have been received with open arms by the local people and it has been a phenomenal experience.

 

“We have always felt it was the right thing to do to hold out the hand of peace and choir members still wear the badge of peace in the lapel of their uniforms.

 

“To mark the 20^thanniversary of the Warrington bombing the choir will be singing in the commemorative service to be held in the town’s Bridge Street –where it actually took place – on Saturday, March 16. On that day we will again sing Across the Bridge of Hope, as we did in Omagh.”

 

Dave added: “The choir has competed at Llangollen International Eisteddfod on many occasions over the years and in recent years we’ve been runners-up twice and third once in the male voice choir section.

 

“We are looking forward very much to competing again this year and will sing first in the male voice choir section on the Saturday afternoon and are hoping very much to get through to the Choir of the World competition later that day.

 

“That is a marvellous competition and features some of the very best choirs from across the globe and we’re hoping we can be amongst them.”

 

The festival's Musical Director, Eilir Griffiths, is delighted the Warrington Male Voice Choir will be competing again this year.

He said: “The Choir of the World competition is internationally recognised and we want to elevate dance to the same level by giving it a place on the stage on the big night.

“Dance plays a really important part in the Eisteddfod and brings huge colour, spectacle and atmosphere to the event with dancers from all over the world in their different costumes.

“We want it to really light up the weekend and have a real impact not just on the Saturday night but throughout the week and especially the weekend.”

As well as the new dance event there will also be a new Children’s Choir of the World competition; with the winning choirs from the Junior Children’s, Senior Children’s and Children’s Folk Choir competitions competing against each other,

There will also be a Conductors Prize for the most inspiring conductor from these competitions as well as a Music Directors Awardgiven by the festival’s Music Director himself, Eilir Owen Griffiths.

Another first, aimed at solo performers, will be the Voice of the Future competition, open to under-35s and with a whopping £2,000 prize.

This year’s event is from Tuesday, July 9, to Sunday, July 14. For more information go to the website at www.international-eisteddfod.co.uk and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/llangollen

Two charged with Wrexham murder

Two men have been have been charged with the murder of Glynis Eileen Solmaz at her Wrexham home.

Alexandros Weatherill, 23, and Christopher Curran, 34, have both been charged with murder and conspiracy to burgle.

Two other men, Christopher Natt, 52, and David Lovell, 29, have also been charged with conspiracy to burgle.

All four men are from the Wrexham area and are due to appear before Wrexham Magistrates’ Court tomorrow morning.

Maps show levels of noise in the area

* The local noise map, showing the A539 junction with the A483 at the top and the

A5 junction at the bottom.

The Welsh Government has published a series of maps to illustrate levels of noise across Wales.

The noise maps show estimated levels of road traffic, railway and industrial noise in Wales’ three largest urban areas, and noise from the busiest roads and railways across the country.

Local authorities, and other bodies, can use the maps to identify where high levels of noise coincide with other social and environmental problems. They will then be able to address these issues to improve the quality of life for people living and working in there areas.

Commenting on the maps, Environment Minister, John Griffiths said:

"One of my top priorities is to improve the local environment for people living in our most disadvantaged areas. Noise pollution should be treated with particular seriousness when it coincides with other factors such as poor air quality, low housing standards and lack of green space."

One of the maps looks at noise generated by trains. Almost all mapped railway lines are due to be electrified and the Welsh Government is looking at the improvements in noise levels likely to result from this.

The Welsh Government will shortly be consulting on a noise action plan which will bring together the noise policies and priorities of public authorities across Wales. The noise maps will be a key source of information helping to inform decisions by these bodies over the next five years.

You can see the noise maps on our Wales Noise Mapping website.

Looking the road noise mapping for this area the key to the colours on the map, representing average noise level in decibels (dB), are:

·        Blue - 75 and over

·        Purple - 70-74.9

·        Red - 65-69.9

·        Pink - 60-64.9

·        Orange - 55-59.9
 

Locally, the highest noise levels (blue) is recorded along the line of the actual carriageway of the A483, with progressively lower noise recordings (purple, then red, pink and orange) on the roadsides along its flanks.

On both the main roads from the bypass to Llangollen – the A539 in the north and the A5 in the south – the highest noise levels are recorded on the eastward carriageways themselves - (purple) diminishing to red.

Again, on the sides of both roads there are extensive orange areas, extending as far west as Trevor on the A539 – where the road then becomes red all the way to Llangollen and beyond - and the junction with the B5605 towards Pentre on the A5.

For more information see: http://data.wales.gov.uk/apps/noise/?lang=en#lat=52.9751&lon=-3.1247&zoom=13&time=den&theme=road

New county cycle route gears up

Work on constructing a new cycle path linking Ruthin and Rhewl in the Vale of Clwyd gets underway next week.

The path will be constructed alongside the existing A525 road and will be carried out in two stages. The first stage begins on March 4th.

Temporary traffic lights will be in operation throughout the duration of the works.
E.Jones and Sons will carry out the works and the project is expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.

This route will link Ruthin to the villages of Rhewl, Llanynys and Llandyrnog and will encourage people to cycle for health reasons and will help protect the environment.
The work is being funded through the Welsh Government Transport Plan grant, which is made available to support projects that promote safe, efficient and sustainable transport networks.

For further information, please contact Ben Wilcox-Jones, on 01824 706922.