Llan adventure firm wins top accolade

ProAdventure Activities Ltd, the Llangollen-based adventure activity and training not-for-profit company, has received a TripAdvisor® Certificate of Excellence award, having been number one attraction on Tripadvisor in the town for two years.

The accolade, which honours hospitality excellence, is given only to establishments that consistently achieve outstanding traveller reviews on TripAdvisor, and is extended to qualifying businesses worldwide. 

Establishments awarded the Certificate of Excellence are located all over the world and represent the upper echelon of businesses listed on the website. 

When selecting Certificate of Excellence winners, TripAdvisor uses a proprietary algorithm to determine the honorees that takes into account reviews ratings. 

Businesses must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, volume and recency of reviews. Additional criteria include a business’ tenure and popularity ranking on the site. 

“Winning the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence is a true source of pride for the entire team at ProAdventure and we’d like to thank all of our past student and customers who took the time to complete a review on TripAdvisor,” said Peter Carol, founder and managing director of ProAdventure Activities Ltd.

“There is no greater seal of approval than being recognised by one’s customers. With the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence based on customer reviews, the accolade is a remarkable vote of confidence to our business and our continued commitment to excellence.”

Marc Charron, president of TripAdvisor for Business, said: “TripAdvisor is pleased to honour exceptional hospitality businesses for consistent excellence.

“The Certificate of Excellence award gives top performing establishments around the world the recognition they deserve, based on feedback from those who matter most – their customers.

“From Australia to Zimbabwe, we want to applaud exceptional hospitality businesses for offering TripAdvisor travellers a great customer experience.” 

ProAdventure provides activities and training to groups, companies, families and individuals.

Along with running its canoe school and instructor training programmes, it also provide rock climbing, abseiling, bushcraft and first aid training and other activities including archery and axe throwing. 

£5 million due to be approved for new health centre

 

* An artist's impression of the new health centre.

 

Health Minister Mark Drakeford is due announce tomorrow (Thursday) a £5m investment for a new primary care centre in Llangollen, which will provide health and social care services in the heart of the community.

 

The new centre will also be a base for voluntary services – bringing care closer to people’s homes – while also improving the training and the recruitment and retention of staff.  

Patients will have access to more services locally, including pain management, community-based heart failure services and diabetic retinopathy. Community mental health and social services teams will be based at the new centre.

 

More treatment sessions will also be able to take place at the centre as nurse practitioners and GP registrars will no longer need to share a room as they do currently.

 

It will be supported by an enhanced  care at home service which provides care for people who might otherwise need to go into hospital. The patient’s GP practice will decide, with the patient and their family, whether they can be safely cared for at home with extra help from nurses, therapists, social workers and voluntary organisations. Care will be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

 

        Professor Drakeford said: “The new primary care centre will provide an expanded and enhanced service for the people of Llangollen.  It will bring a number of services together in one place and will be a base for social services.

 

        “Importantly, it will also support the development of an enhanced care at home service, helping more people to be cared for at home and avoiding unnecessary admissions to hospital. 

 

        “This is an exciting development for Llangollen and will mean more services available on the community’s doorstep.  It will result in an enhanced local health service and I look forward to seeing the start of work on the centre.

 

        "This scheme, and investment by the Welsh Government, demonstrates our determination to deliver on the pledges made as part of the process of changing healthcare in North Wales."

 

Dr Peter Higson, chairman of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board,said: "We are delighted this important scheme has been given the green light. 

 

"Our plans for Llangollen will increase the range of services we can offer in the town, and provide a base for our teams who are delivering more and more care to patients in their own homes.  The extra space and improved facilities will enhance the experience of patients attending the new health centre and opens up new opportunities for colleagues from the health, social care and the voluntary sector to work together.”

 

The Welsh Government says work on the new centre is expected to begin in June this year with completion by June 2015. 

 

The centre will be on site of the former River Lodge hotel in the town. 

 

The additional services available at the centre will include pain management, community based heart failure, diabetic retinopathy, group physiotherapy, a range of outpatients clinics such as gastro, surgery and mental health, and children’s brain injury and speech therapy clinics.  

Act FAST is you suspect a stroke

THE Welsh Ambulance Service is reminding members of the public to act ‘FAST’ if they suspect they or someone they know is having a stroke.

The FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) test is a simple but important method of helping people to recognise the tell-tale signs of a stroke.

 

It involves checking a person’s face for signs of weakness or facial droop, their arms for weakness, and their speech for slurring, or difficulty speaking.

Time is of the essence, so if any or all of these signs are present, it is important to dial 999.

Stroke is most often caused by a blood clot in the brain and can lead to long-term paralysis, memory loss and problems with speech and vision. In the most severe cases, strokes can be fatal.

In April 2014, the Welsh Ambulance Service took 1,218 emergency calls across Wales for patients with suspected stroke, compared to 1,206 in April 2013 and 1,015 in April 2012.

Chris Moore, the Trust’s Clinical Support Lead, said: “A stroke is a medical emergency that requires immediate medical attention, and recognising the signs of a stroke and dialling 999 quickly for an ambulance is crucial.

“The quicker the patient arrives at a specialist stroke unit, the quicker they will receive the right treatment and the more likely they are to make a better recovery. If you suspect a stroke, always dial 999.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service treats stroke as a medical emergency and works collaboratively with hospitals across Wales to ensure suspected stroke patients are seen quickly.

Whenever a stroke is suspected by ambulance crews, the hospital is contacted to alert them of the patient’s condition and the estimated time of arrival, with the aim of ensuring the patient receives the right care quickly.

May is Action on Stroke Month, and the Stroke Association is raising awareness of the risks of a ‘mini-stroke’ (a TIA, or transient ischaemic attack).

Every year, around 46,000 people in the UK have a TIA for the first time.

The symptoms of TIA are the same as stroke, but may only last for a few minutes and will have completely gone within 24 hours. After that, people appear to return to normal.

A UK-wide survey of people who had a TIA in the past five years has revealed that more than a third of them (37 per cent) dismissed it as a ‘funny turn.’

Only one in five people (22 per cent) experiencing symptoms of a TIA rang 999, and almost half of people (47 per cent) said the symptoms did not feel like an emergency.

A fifth of people (20 per cent) went on to have a major stroke.

Ana Palazon, Director Cymru for the Stroke Association, said: “The greatest risk of having a stroke is within the first few days after a mini-stroke, but because the symptoms are brief or mild, for many people it doesn’t feel like an emergency.

“Too many mini-stroke patients delay calling 999 when their symptoms start, often waiting instead for a GP appointment, or if they have visual problems visiting their optician for advice.

“When the symptoms start, you should call 999 and say you may be having a stroke. Urgently investigating and treating people who have a TIA or mini-stroke could reduce their risk of having another stroke by 80 per cent.”

The Welsh Ambulance Service has joined forces with the Stroke Association to design brand new FAST-themed posters for display on the side of emergency ambulances and rapid response cars.

The new posters are currently in production, and are expected to take their place on Trust vehicles in the coming weeks.

Visit www.stroke.org.uk/FAST for more information on the FAST campaign and on TIA.

Police seek witnesses to Oswestry death incident

Police are appealing for witnesses after a lorry driver was killed in a road incident in Oswestry town centre early today.

Police are investigating the circumstances of the incident which happened in Smithfield Street shortly before 7am.

No other vehicle is believed to have been involved.

A West Mercia Police spokesperson said: “The man was driving a delivery vehicle which is thought to have come into contact with a car park barrier.

“We are still investigating exactly what happened and are appealing for witnesses to contact Oswestry police station on 101.

“At this stage, we do not think any other vehicle was involved.  The driver, who is thought to be in his sixties, was the only person in the lorry.”

A post mortem is being arranged and an inquest will be opened in due course.

The Health and Safety Executive has also been informed.

Smithfield Street was closed for several hours while the emergency services worked at the scene.

AM calls for extension of Blue Badge scheme

North Wales Assembly Mark Isherwood is keen to extend the ‘Blue Badge’ Parking for Disabled People scheme to include people requiring temporary Blue Badges.

 

Speaking in the Assembly Chamber this week, Mr Isherwood told the Transport Minister that measures could be put in place to prevent blue badges being recycled, enabling temporary badges to be issued.

 

He said: “After I wrote to you last December on behalf of a constituent who was advocating a temporary blue badge, after she had injured herself and was in a wheelchair for a number of weeks and was suffering access problems accordingly, you replied helpfully by referring to the Blue Badge Review Group and stated that it had identified obstacles to temporary badges, such as recovering the badge when it was no longer required and the consequent potential for abuse.

 

“What consideration has been given, or will or could be given, to temporary badges being provided with dates of duration or expiry or renewal dates on them so that they could not be recycled in that way?”

 

The Minister said she would forward Mr Isherwood’s contribution to her officials for discussion.

 

She said: “We have to get this scheme right and it has to be implemented fairly across Wales.”

UKIP runner-up in Wales Euro contests

UKIP were runners-up to Labour in the European elections in Wales.

For the full story see: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-27548508

Election results by party
 

Party name	Votes	% of votes
UK Independence Party	6563	27%
Conservative	5987	25%
Labour	5587	23%
Plaid Cymru - The Party of Wales	3944	16%
The Green Party	835	3%
Liberal Democrats	675	3%
British National Party	219	< 1%
Britain First	215	< 1%
Socialist Labour Party	139	< 1%
No2EU	78	< 1%
The Socialist Party of Great Britain	36	< 1%
Turnout:		32%

 

Campaign aims to attract more foster carers

A campaign aimed at attracting more foster carers for children and young people has been launched by Denbighshire County Council.

The 'Love Fostering' campaign is a multi-media campaign that includes a new information website, promotional banners and booklets. The campaign aims to increase the number of applications and enquiries received about fostering in the county and to promote the benefits of fostering county-wide.

Staff from the Council's Fostering team will also be out and about in events around the county over the coming months, promoting the benefits of fostering and encourage people to consider making a difference to the life of a child or children in Denbighshire.

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Cabinet Lead Member for Social Care, Adult and Children's Services, said: "Fostering is a way of offering children and young people a home, someone to care for them while their own family are unable to look after them, This can be for a variety of reasons, including neglect, illness or family breakdown.

"Foster carers in Denbighshire are asked to provide a safe, secure and nurturing environment, either short or long term. while helping children and young people to keep in contact with their families and friends.  This can mean anything from one night to a number of years or permanent, depending on the children's needs.

"Fostering can involve looking after children of all ages, from babies,. teenagers to young adults. People can choose what age range of children they are able to support and they are able to change which type of fostering they offer to children as their own circumstances change or their skills and confidence increase.

"We have some great examples of people in Denbighshire that have fostered children and they have made an enormous difference to that child's life. It can be extremely rewarding for both foster carers and the children and we will provide support and guidance every step of the way."

There are a number of differing types of fostering including general fostering (short and long term), respite care to allow other carers to take a break from their duties , short break care to support families who have children with disabilities, support care to enable families to overcome difficult periods in their lives and emergency foster care that can see children placed at very short notice.

To find out more, please visit www.lovefostering.co.uk or call 0800 7313215.