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.