£4 million earmarked for new ambulances

The Welsh Ambulance Service will get almost £4m for a major upgrade of its fleet of vehicles, Health Minister Mark Drakeford announced today.

 

The new funding will enable the service to buy 41 new vehicles, including emergency ambulances and specialist rapid response vehicles, to replace existing ambulance fleet.

 

The ambulance service currently has 736 vehicles covering an area of more than 8,000 square miles in Wales. The new vehicles will help contribute to a more reliable, better equipped, and more efficient emergency ambulance service.

The new ambulances will ensure patients are treated in the best clinical environments possible using the latest equipment. The new vehicles will reduce overall operating costs for the Welsh Ambulance Service as they will be more fuel efficient.

The latest ambulance service performance figures reveal the demands placed on the service with 35,570 emergency calls during June 2014. They also show that immediately life-threatening incidents, which needed an emergency ambulance response, have increased by 30% over the last five years.

The £3.833m investment for new fleet will allow the ambulance service to buy:

• 14 emergency ambulances;
• 15 large patient care service vehicles;
• four small patient care service vehicles;
• two health courier service vehicles; 
• six specialist vehicles.

Professor Drakeford said: “The demands placed on the ambulance service in Wales every day of the year are significant. The service receives tens of thousands of emergency calls every month and life-threatening incidents have risen by almost a third over the past five years.

“This is why we are continuing to invest in the ambulance fleet to make sure modern, reliable vehicles are available to respond to sick and injured patients. This new funding will help provide high-quality clinical services, improve the comfort and care to patients and offer a much better working environment for ambulance service staff.”

Heather Ransom, Head of Resource for the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: "The Trust welcomes the continued support from the Welsh Government for its vehicle replacement scheme. Not only will the new vehicles improve the comfort and safety of our patients but also the working conditions for our staff.

“Regularly replacing ageing vehicles ensures our fleet remains modern, reliable and fit for purpose. The investment will allow us to continue to improve the quality of our services for the people of Wales and enhance patient care."

Gardening club hosts successful open show

Llangollen and District Gardening Club hosted its 2014 Open Show at St Collen's last Saturday. ‏

Thirty people entered more than 130 classes. 

 

Organisers say they were delighted with this as they hadn't held a show for a number of years and knew that they would have to gradually build it up again.

 

David Bartley's entries in the vegetable and flower classes won him the trophies for the most points in the vegetable classes, most points in the vegetable and flower classes and most points in the show.

 

He also received a £20 voucher from Stans kindly donated to the person who won the most points in the show.

 

Jane Jones, who is on the gardening club committee, won the trophy for the most points in the flower classes.

 

Judith Barclay won the trophy for the most points in the cookery classes.

 

For the organisers, Linda Thane said: "We would like to thank the judges who did a splendid job, Dr Rhys Davies for presenting the trophies, the sponsors and the people who gave their time to

help with organising and running of the show.

 

"We were delighted that we had entries from people who had previously entered but especially pleased to receive entries from people who had never entered a competition before and they were surprised and encouraged when they won a 1st in their class."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Skates becomes eisteddfod vice-president

Clwyd South AM Ken Skates said he was ‘proud and honoured’ after becoming vice-president of the world-famous Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

The Labour Assembly Member, who is based in Llangollen, was offered the official role by the chairman Gethin Davies this month in recognition of his continued support for the event.

Mr Skates (pictured left) said: “I have said previously that the Llangollen Eisteddfod is my favourite event of the year, and last month’s was the best I’ve been to.

"I was proud and honoured to be offered the role of vice-president, and I look forward to helping one of the region’s flagship events continue to go from strength to strength.

“The Eisteddfod is famous around the world for its celebration of different cultures, and promotes understanding and cohesion between international communities.

"It gives us another platform to show what Wales – and, in particular, Denbighshire – has to offer, and it’s something we should be immensely proud of.”

MP calls for meeting over A483/A55 roadworks

WREXHAM MP Ian Lucas has called for a meeting with the Highways Agency before major works on a crucial road for commuters - including many from Llangollen - begin in earnest. Preliminary work earlier in the month on the A483/ A55 interchange caused long delays for people approaching the junction, especially from the Wrexham direction. A number of his constituents have contacted Mr Lucas to raise concerns that little information was made available to drivers before the work began. With work on the junction – intended to help improve the traffic flow – slated to begin soon, Mr Lucas has asked to meet Highways bosses to ensure disruption is kept to a minimum. He said: “It is noticeable that when there are problems on the A483, whether these are accidents or scheduled works, that delays make themselves felt for a long way along the road. That’s why I am so keen to ensure that the Highways Agency are clear about what they are planning and what effect the work may have. “I am aware that the work being undertaken is in England, but it is almost a textbook example of a cross-border project and it will clearly have an impact on my constituents travelling from and to Wrexham. “I have called for improvements to the A55 and A483 interchange for some time, and will keep a close eye on the work once it is completed. I think any fair minded person would expect some delays as work is carried out, but what is crucial is ensuring motorists know what to expect and are given information with enough time to help them to plan.”

Crowds enjoy sports club event

* Crowds at the fete enjoy the sunshine. 

A Bank Holiday weekend fundraising fete at Llangollen Sports Club's headquarters on Sunday afternoon proved a huge hit with the crowds.

Revellers flocked to the field to test their skills with a variety of games, including trying to throw a rugby ball through holes in a board.

There was also a bouncy castle and face painting to keep the youngsters happy plus a hog roast and other refreshments including a sweets stall.

A full programme of live entertainment was provided throughout the afternoon and early evening, including performances by live bands.

Providing the perfect rousing finish was the band Marblehead Johnson who laid on a string of Britpop hits which got the crowd up on their feet and begging for more.

*The band Marblehead Johnson were a big hit with their Britpop performance.

 

 

 

* Pat Vance came all the way from the south of England to be at the event.  

Man's body discovered in Llangollen area quarry

A body of a man has this morning (Sunday, August 24) been recovered from a disused quarry in the Llangollen area.

 

According to North Wales Police, the man, who at this time has not been formally identified but is believed to be from the Leicestershire area, was diving yesterday (Saturday, August 23) with two others at Aber Las, a disused quarry in the Nantyr area of Llangollen, when it is believed he got into difficulties.

 

The Ambulance Service alerted the police to the incident at 1.52pm on Saturday, August 23, after the alarm was raised by the man’s co-divers.

 

Temporary Chief Inspector Siobhan Edwards of North Wales Police said: “We along with the Mountain Rescue Teams (MRT) including Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue Organisation (OVMRO) and NEWSAR (North East Wales Search and Rescue) attended.

 

"The expertise of the North Wales Cave Rescue Organisation (NWCRO) was also used along with divers from the Cave Rescue Organisation who are based in North Yorkshire. The latter were transported to the scene by a Sea King helicopter from 202 Squadron RAF Search and Rescue.

 

“During the early hours of this morning (Sunday, August 24) the body of a man was recovered from the disused quarry.

 

“The next of kin have been informed.”

 

T/ Chief Insp Edwards added: “North Wales Police are not treating the death as suspicious at this time however officers will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the Coroner. A file will be submitted in due course.”

 

North Wales Police say they would like to thank all agencies and volunteers who assisted.

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New singing group takes to the stage

* Members of the Llangollen-based Stage 2 Stage singing group. Picture by Barrie Potter.

Stage 2 Stage is a recently founded group of amateur singers, whose mission is to bring the glamour, vibrancy and magic of professional musical theatre to a stage near you.

Based in Llangollen, the 15 vocalists and their Musical Director, Elen Mair Roberts, have a long association with local artistic and musical organisations and their collective experience in treading the amateur boards spans several decades.

Formerly attached to the town’s Operatic Society and known as the Troupe, the group decided to go solo at the end of 2013 in order to pursue their own ambitions with greater autonomy and freedom, though many members still maintain active membership of the Operatic. 

Close friends in addition to colleagues in chorus, Stage 2 Stage members hail from an eclectic mix of backgrounds, professions, age groups and even countries but have the common denominator of a passion for music, a sense of fun and a desire to share this with others. 

The group’s repertoire is extensive and has something to appeal to most tastes. The main component is musical theatre, however further genres include opera, screen, popular music, festive favourites and Welsh folk and Elen strives continuously to introduce exciting, new pieces.

So whether you are an ardent fan of Rodgers and Hammerstein, enjoy more contemporary shows such as Hairspray and Chicago, or like to rock the evening away to Queen, you can rest assured that Stage 2 Stage will have something to suit your preference. 

The group firmly believes that high quality entertainment should be accessible to all. To this end, their broad repertoire and very reasonable fees make them a fantastic choice for any type of event, from an intimate family celebration, to a fully choreographed show complete with their own, five piece band. 

In their previous guise, they performed at a host of private and public events, with notable credits including Barmouth Festival of Arts 2012, Welsh rugby team captain Ryan Jones’ Testimonial Dinner, Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod’s “Llanfest” and Llangollen Women’s Festival of Music.

Their debut as Stage 2 Stage was in April at Dolgellau Music Festival where they performed a full concert to an appreciative audience at Coleg Meirion-Dwyfor and received warm praise from the festival organisers, who said: “The choral sound was rich and disciplined at all times, and the company as a whole radiated energy and a tremendous delight in what they were doing...Following this first outing as an independent group, the company deserves to prosper."

The group is currently working on new material for the autumn/ winter season, so if you are planning an event and would like to find out more about how Stage 2 Stage could enhance that, contact Tessa Orton-Jones or Alison Jarvis on 07413 822408 or e-mail stage2stage@outlook.com

Details are also available at www.stage2stage.net for details of past and future public performances, and to view photographs and testimonials.