AM's concern over cancer treatment figures

Since the beginning of the year more cancer patients have been forced to wait longer for treatment, claims North Wales Assembly Member Aled Roberts.

 

“In February the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board achieved the Welsh Government’s 95% target for newly diagnosed cancer patients being seen within 62 days or 9 weeks,” he said.

 

“But since then this figure has declined to 83.6% in October 211; this means 17.4% started their treatment over 9 weeks after being diagnosed.

 

“I believe that this delay in treatment is not acceptable and I worry that some patients’ cancer is not being treated quickly enough to give them the best chance of beating the disease.

 

“The figures for the Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board show a significant increase in treatment delays between May and June of this year. Between these two months cancer treatment within 62 days for patients newly diagnosed dropped from 90% to 81.7%.”

 

“I have seen constituents who appear to be waiting long periods before they start their cancer treatment and I will pursue this issue with the health board officials to find out the cause for these increasing delays.”

 

 

The statistics can be found at: http://wales.gov.uk/statistics-and-research/nhs-cancer-waiting-times/?lang=en

Dinas Bran scoops six awards in bands battle

Ysgol Dinas Bran from Llangollen scooped a sensational six awards in the prestigious Battle of the Bands 2014 Awards held recently at Rhyl Town Hall.

The venue was rocking to the rafters as 12 acts from Denbighshire schools competed  before a packed house. 

The band This Way Down from Ysgol Dinas Bran took the overall winner’s award and Equanimity from the same school landed the People’s Choice award.

This Way Down had earlier taken the prizes for the DJ-ing Masterclass for Secondary School Students + Guest DJ at School Prom, Recording Studio Access, their Gig at Llanfest 2015 (Llangollen July 2015) and their set on the S4C stage at Llangollen International Eisteddfod.

This was a unique event, designed by young people for young people. 

The backdrops to the bands’ performances was a graffiti mural designed and produced by pupils from Prestatyn and Rhyl High Schools. 

Music ranged from modern to original rock compositions. 

There was a mix of performances from soloists, duos, 3-6 piece rock bands, with participants ranging from seven-18. 

Judges included DJ Rusty, aka Richard Jenkins, and Welsh Actress Gemma Lawman.

All proceeds raised at the event will be reinvested in future Enrichment activities. 

Organisers say the audience response was phenomenal and that they are now planning next year’s event. 

Start date given for Corwen Pavilion demolition

Denbighshire County Council has announced that contractors will be on site at Corwen Pavilion from the 5th January 2015 to start the demolition process.

The aim is to complete the work by mid to late February 2015.

Works will initially involve a soft strip-out of internal areas of the property including the safe removal of asbestos.

The council took the decision to close the Pavilion in April 2010 after a structural survey confirmed there were numerous issues with the roof structure and deteriorating foundations.

The site also suffered with wet rot, dry rot, furniture beetle infestation, inadequate heating systems and asbestos.  

Local councillor, Huw Jones said: “I understand that this will be a sad day for some as the Corwen Pavilion has been a key feature in the town but such a building was always going to have a limited life span and surveys carried out in 2010 showed it had finally deteriorated beyond economic repair.

"Following the conclusion of a protracted court case in which the court found in favour of the Council, we are now in a position to begin demolishing the building and I look forward to establishing a new future for the site.

"The land will be transferred back to the community but given the condition of the building, we made it very clear from the outset that we could not transfer the land with any liabilities, meaning that the site needed to be cleared and made safe in order to allow any transfer to go ahead."

Jamie Groves, Head of Communications, Marketing and Leisure, said: “The council remains fully committed to transferring the title of this land over to the community and we will be pleased to continue to support them to move forward and find the necessary funding for a sustainable building.”

Ambulance service advises on hospital admissions

THE Welsh Ambulance Service is reminding members of the public about what they can do to help make their hospital admission go hitch free this Christmas.

The Trust is once again promoting the Green Bag scheme, which encourages people to keep all of their prescription medicines in one place and readily to hand.

The special green bags, available on all ambulances and from hospital pharmacies, are for patients to put their medication in, so whether they are going to hospital unexpectedly or for a planned procedure they can take their tablets, medicines, creams, inhalers and herbal supplements with them.

The Trust is also reminding the public about the Message in a Bottle scheme, which encourages people to keep their personal and medical details on a standard form in a common location – the fridge.

The scheme, which is run by the Lions Club, provides patients with a free plastic container which inside it has a proforma where patients can list their personal details, current medications, allergies and medical history details.

The scheme is designed to save the emergency services valuable time if they need to enter a property in an emergency situation.

Richard Lee, Head of Clinical Services at the Welsh Ambulance Service, said: “The Christmas period is traditionally a very busy time for us, so we’re encouraging our patients to help us out by playing their part to make sure we can quickly identify key personal and medical information in an emergency.

“It is extremely important that patients take their own medicines into hospital, because it enables doctors to know exactly what medicines they are taking and the patient will continue to receive the correct dose at the right time. Keeping everything together in one place makes it easier for both the patients, ambulance crews and hospital staff.

“It is also very important that we can ascertain this key information quickly. Sometimes when people are ill they cannot recall this key information and the Message in a Bottle scheme will help us to do that.

“Whilst the scheme is focused on more vulnerable people in a community, anyone can have an accident in the home, so this scheme is available to anyone.”

Richard had this advice for patients over the Christmas and New Year period:

- Make sure you have enough medication to see you through the festive period when opening hours for pharmacies and doctors surgeries will be affected

- If you are staying with a friend or relative for Christmas don’t forget to take your medicines – the ambulance service or accident and emergency department will not be able to issue prescriptions

- Make sure you know where your on call pharmacy is over the festive period – call NHS Direct Wales on 0845 46 47 to find out

If you would like more information about the Green Bag or Message in a Bottle schemes, please call the Partners in Healthcare Team at the Welsh Ambulance Service on 01792 311773 or email ppi.team@wales.nhs.uk 

Hundreds sign up for garden waste service

Up to 1,400 Denbighshire residents have taken advantage of an early bird discount and signed up for the garden waste collection service that starts in March 2015.

On 1^st December, Denbighshire County Council launched a secure online payment system on its website to make signing up as simple and convenient as possible.

The 1,000 customer milestone was reached on Monday 8^th December with the total number of customers currently standing at 1,389.  In October, the Council announced an annual £24 charge for the garden waste service from March 2015.

The charge is one of a number of significant cuts the Council must make because of reductions in the settlement received from government.

Householders who wish to continue to receive a garden waste service must opt-in and pay the annual charge, which is reduced to £22 for those who sign up before 31^st January.

Denbighshire waste officer, Alan Roberts, said: “We are very pleased to have 1,000 households sign up to the scheme so quickly.

"The council wants the cost to residents to be as low as possible so we urge people to take advantage of the early bird discount.

"Signing up for a year is a commitment we know some people find difficult, but we know some groups of neighbours sharing costs which is great way of making the service more affordable. For those with green fingers, a year’s worth of garden waste collections could make a very welcome Christmas present.”

The secure online payment system can be found at www.denbighshire.gov.uk/gardenwaste or www.denbighshire.gov.uk. It is also possible to sign up for the garden waste service at Denbighshire County Council’s Customer Service Centre (tel. 01824 706101) or at any of the Council One Stop Shops throughout the county.

County to look at future of in-house social care

Members of Denbighshire County Council’s Cabinet have agreed to consult on the future provision of the authority's in-house social care services.

On December 9, the council agreed a proposal to reduce the budget for in-house social care by £700k.  

The council currently funds over 500 older people to live in care homes across Denbighshire, with just 54 - or 10% - of those living in the three care homes (Awelon, Ruthin, Dolwen in Denbigh and Cysgod y Gaer in Corwen).  

Councillor Bobby Feeley, Cabinet Lead Member for Health and Social Care, said: “Older people frequently tell us that they want to live in their own homes as they get older, not move into residential care, so we want to explore how we can develop alternatives to this such as Extra Care Housing Schemes.

"Demand is steadily declining for 'standard' residential care, which is currently provided by LA homes (they do not provide nursing or dementia care), and we are working across county to provide alternatives such as Extra Care Housing Schemes, which  are being developed in partnership with other Housing Associations/ housing providers in key communities across the county.  Also enhanced care packages allow people to live at home independently for  longer.

“Part of the consultation would be about what they think about the council supporting the development of more of this type of provision as an alternative to the three council owned residential care homes, which are a significantly more expensive to run than equivalent services provided by the third and independent sectors."

In relation to the 54 individuals living in Awelon, Dolwen and Cysgod y Gaer, many of them are likely to need to move into alternative settings as their needs increase and they develop needs for nursing or specialist elderly mental health care. 

The council has given a commitment to ensure that they will not close any council owned care home if there are individuals living there whose needs can not be met in alternative provision.

Councillor Feeley added: “We recognise that any change can be upsetting for those involved and that is why we are starting a consultation during which, we will meet with residents and their relatives or representatives to explain how services could be provided and to gather their views on any changes. Part of the consultation will include an impact assessment for those affected.

“We would like to reassure service users and their families that we will work with them and support them throughout the process. 

The consultation would include people living within the three Extra Care Housing Schemes (Gorwel Newydd, Rhyl, Nant y Mor, Prestatyn and Llys Awelon, Ruthin) where domiciliary care services are provided by the council. These housing schemes for older people are owned by Housing Associations, not the local authority,  and the consultation would purely be about the provision of care services within these housing schemes. Arrangements for housing support or any other services in the building will not be affected so will not be included as part of this consultation. 

Parish church Christmas services

St Collen's Church has given the following details of its services over Christmas:

Saturday 20th December - 7pm, Carols by Candlelight in Trevor Church – Tickets £5.

Sunday 21st December - 9.30am, Christmas bilingual Communion in St John’s; 11 am, Llantysilio Church: Carols and Seasonal readings; 6pm, St Collen’s Church: Traditional carol service.

 

Tuesday 23rd December - 10am-12 midday, Church Community Hall, Come and prepare for Crib and Christingle service.

Christmas Eve (Wednesday 24th December) – 5pm, St Collen’s, Crib n’ Christingle Service;

11pm, Eucharist of Christmas Night.

Christmas Day (Thursday 25th December) – 8am, St Collen’s, Holy Communion; 11 am, Holy Communion; 9.30am, Llantysilio, Holy Communion, Trevor Church 9.30 am - Holy Communion.

Sunday 29th December - St Collen’s 8.00 am – Holy Communion; 11 am - Holy Communion.