10,000 youngsters still unprotected against measles

More than 10 000 children and young people under the age of 18 in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, which includes Llangollen, are still unprotected from measles, according to Public Health Wales.

 

Children aged between 10 and 18 are now being targeted in a schools immunisation campaign, as this has been the commonest hit age group in the current Swansea epidemic area.

 

Over 7000 children in North Wales in this age group are currently unprotected against measles. Since the beginning of November, 1,257 people in the area have come forward catch up vaccinations. Of these, only 605 were aged between 10 and 18.

 

There have now been 1,039 cases of measles in the Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Hywel Dda and Powys health board areas – an increase of 28 since Tuesday – and 85 people have been hospitalised. Across the whole of Wales the total is 1,170.  There have been 58 notified cases in the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area this year, of these; four have been confirmed by laboratory testing 

 

Andrew Jones, Director of Public Health for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “The simple, safe and effective way to stop measles is to have two MMR jabs.

 

“The number vaccinated in the last month has been very encouraging.

 

“But there is still much to do and those in the 10 to18 year age group are a particular concern. Young people of this age are most likely to have missed the MMR jabs when they were young. They are most vulnerable to measles and we need to see a better response to the catch-up now being offered by the NHS.

 

“Vaccination sessions are continuing in schools across the area and I urge pupils and their parents to take advantage of these.  The dates & consent forms can be found on www.bcu.wales.nhs.uk. Should parents have missed their schools session they are being encouraged to contact their GP to arrange vaccination

 

“We have seen that measles can be potentially fatal and no one should be complacent about its severity. 

 

“Those not vaccinated are more likely to catch measles, which is highly infectious. It is just a matter of time before a child is left with serious and permanent complications such as eye disorders, deafness or brain damage, or dies.”

 

North Wales is not within the current epidemic area. At present, the advice to parents of children aged under ten in North Wales is that they should ensure that their children receive their MMR vaccination in accordance with the normal schedule, with the first dose given between 12-13 months old and the second dose at 3 years and four months old, but there is no need to bring these dates forward.   

 

If children have not received the MMR vaccine by these dates they should contact their GP to arrange immunisation.

 

Adults who were born before 1970 are presumed to have immunity and do not need the MMR. Those born between 1970 and 1995 when the MMR was introduced are not currently being called for vaccination but if they plan to travel to the epidemic area in South Wales they are advised to contact their GP surgery for further advice.  Health staff who are in direct patient contact, and especially those who work with children are now being offered the MMR vaccine.

 

The MMR vaccine is recommended by the World Health Organization, UK Department of Health and Public Health Wales as the most effective and safe way to protect children against measles 

 

To prevent the spread of the illness, Public Health Wales has issued the following advice:

 

• If your child is unvaccinated make immediate arrangements with your GP for them to receive the MMR jab. This is even more important if your child has had contact with someone with measles.
• If your child is unwell and you suspect it is measles you should contact your GP. Your child should not attend school or nursery for four days after the rash starts.
• Telephone your GP surgery to inform them you or your child has a rash illness before attending, so that arrangements can be made in advance for minimising contact with other vulnerable patients.
• Avoid going to A&E unless you are seriously ill, and if you do attend, telephone ahead to let them know you or your child may have measles.
• Avoid contact with pregnant women, people with weak immune systems and babies who are too young to be vaccinated, as they are more vulnerable to infection and there are very few treatments available to help them if they do catch measles.
• If any family members are pregnant, receiving chemotherapy, or aged under one, it is vital to ensure that all other family members are up to date with their MMR vaccination.     
• Maternity wards, midwives and health visitors are being asked to share information with parents to encourage them to check the vaccination status of all children in the family to avoid further household spread amongst vulnerable groups.

 

Further information on measles, including a link to a video testimony from a mother whose three year old unvaccinated daughter contracted measles, is available at: http://www.publichealthwales.org/measles

 

The latest data on the measles outbreak – including cases by health board area, vaccination uptake data and numbers of unvaccinated children in Wales – can be found at: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/888/page/66389

Website urges more to tuck into school meals

A new website encouraging a greater take-up of school meals in Denbighshire has gone live.

The website: www.denbighshireschoolmeals.co.uk includes menus for individual schools, details of special promotions, details on the cashless payment systems in high schools, policy on buying ingredients, free school meals, frequently asked questions and a regular newsletter.

There is also an educational game section where children can play whilst learning about nutrition and making healthy choices.
 
Ian Kemp, Denbighshire's Catering Manager, said: "This is a great opportunity to raise the profile of school meals in Denbighshire and provide Pupils, parents and guardians with a one stop shop where their questions can be answered at the touch of a button.

"In Denbighshire, we provide plenty of options for healthy school meals and we know that eating a proper lunch has positive benefits for children's concentration in the classroom. We hope the website gives parents and guardians some food for thought and encourages them to look at the tasty options available on our menus."

There will also be a link on the site to the County Council's job vacancy page. 

Llangollen Railway steams into a busy May

* Loco no 80072, British Railways Standard class 4 tank engine, which has recently returned to Lllangollen after a spell out on hireat other railways. It will be a main player on trains at Llangollen this summer season.

 

May will be another busy month at Llangollen Railway.

This weekend, train services will run at hourly intervals from the station, starting at 10.15, and continue until 4pm. 

Saturday will feature steam and diesel locomotives and Sunday and Monday will see two steam locos running - the British Railways Standard Tank 80072 and Great Western freight 3802. 

Next special event on the heritage railway is the Teddy Bears Picnic on Sunday, May 19. 

Saturday, May 11 sees the latest in the railway’s popular series of murder mysteries.

Car rally passes through town this weekend

* Cars from the 1970s and 1980s such as these will take part in the rally.

MORE than 70 drivers in a prestigious motoring event will make a brief stop in Llangollen early on Sunday morning.

Competitors in the famous Border 100 Road Rally – some from as far away as Jersey and the Isle of Man - will have a re-fuelling halt in the town at around 1.30am.

The two-day event, which was voted the best road rally in the UK in 2007, begins at Llanfyllin in Powys on Saturday and the Llangollen fuel stop comes at roughly the half-way point of the route, which takes in areas of Powys and Denbighshire before finishing 100 miles later at Meiford in Powys.

The 75 entries include cars from the 1970s to the present day such as VW Golfs, Ford Escorts, Renaults and Subarus.

Clerk of the course Iwan Jones said: “The cars won’t be in Llangollen for very long. It will just be a fuelling halt, which is known as a ‘splash and dash’ in rallying.”

The event’s organisers have gone to great pains to assure Llangollen residents to ensure that no unnecessary disturbance is caused as the rally passes through.

They recently dropped off letters to a number of local homes saying that all checkpoints will be manned by efficient marshals and placed where possible far enough away from dwellings so as not to allow excessive noise to be created.

The letter adds: “The competitors will be notified that any undue nuisance created by them during the event will mean their instant disqualification.” 

Latest local roadworks

Denbighshire County Council has given details of the following roadworks in the area:

Abbey Road, Llangollen, temporary lights on May 17 to allow pole renewal by ScottishPower.

Birch Hill, Llangollen, road closure from May 8-September 20 to allow water works by Welsh Water.

 

Search continues for missing Acrefair man

North Wales Police say they are continuing in their efforts to trace Acrefair man David Clwyd Davies (pictured below) who has not been seen since the April 7.

 

Detective Inspector Arwyn Jones, who is leading the enquiry said: “It will be four weeks on Sunday May 5 since Mr Davies was last seen and our investigation into his disappearance remains a priority.

 

"We would again ask members of the public who may hold any information that may assist the enquiry to come forward, particularly anybody who knows Clwyd, and who may have any information about his life or movements, past or present.    

 

“We would ask any person who regularly uses the public footpath which runs from Tower Hill, Acrefair towards Tref Y Nant Farm to come forward.  

 

 “We have received a number of requests from members of the public to assist with searching for Clwyd, and although we would like to thank those who have offered, we would discourage this at this time and would like to reassure the public that we have highly trained search advisors involved in locating Clwyd.”

 

Anybody with any information should contact North Wales Police on 101 or alternatively Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

County tackles rising benefit fraud

Denbighshire County Council is cracking down on benefit fraud, which has risen up by almost 100% in four years.

In 2012-13 investigations by the authority's Benefit Compliance Section resulted in a total of 160 sanctions against benefit claimants who had made false statements to claim Housing and Council Tax Benefit, or who had failed to promptly notify a change which affected their benefit.

Many of the cases were investigated in conjunction with the Department of Works and Pensions investigation service. This is an increase of almost 100% in four years.

Whilst the most serious cases were prosecuted, the section also offered a number of cautions and Administrative Penalties as an alternative to prosecution.

Where these were declined the cases were referred for prosecution.

An Administrative Penalty is a fine imposed on the total overpayment of 30%, which has recently been increased by legislation to 50%.

The council can now also impose a Civil Penalty (£50 in Benefit cases and £70 in Council Tax Reduction cases) in instances where a claimant has negligently made an incorrect statement and failed to take reasonable steps to correct the error, failed to provide information requested or failed to report a change in circumstances, without reasonable excuse.

As well as conducting investigations into benefit offences the section is also proactive in using all appropriate measures to recover Housing Benefit Overpayments. 

One of the cases which the council investigated with the DWP featured recently on BBC’s Saints and Scroungers programme.

A query was received from a London Borough about a disabled parking permit in London which was registered to a property in Denbighshire.

Enquiries in Denbighshire raised suspicions and the case  was referred to the DWP Organised Fraud Team.

As a result it was discovered that a person was using two identities and claiming from a number of properties in Wales, Manchester and London.

The false claims against various authorities amounted to over £150,000 in ten years. A Proceeds of Crime Order was made against him and to date Denbighshire have recovered over £5,000 of their debt.

Other significant cases included -

A claimant failed to declare capital from the sale of his father’s house and received a sentence of 30 months.

A nurse received a 12 month community order after failing to disclose that her husband was living with her.

A number of  claimants were found guilty of failing to promptly report a change in their circumstances which affected their benefits.

Councillor Julian Thompson-Hill, Cabinet Lead Member for Finance, said: "The majority of residents comply with the law. However, there is a minority of people who defraud the system by claiming public money they are not entitled to.

"To them, our message is clear. If you willingly defraud the Council, we will take action. Residents who only claim what they are entitled to have absolutely nothing to fear."