Latest news with #AneurinBevan
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Aneurin Bevan Health Board annual cancer report 2025
Health boards in Wales have a target that at least 75 per cent of patients with suspected cancer are seen, diagnosed, and treated within 62 days. Constraints in the system however mean the country's six health boards are working towards a 70 per cent target. Leanne Watkins, the chief operating officer for the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, told its May meeting its performance against the single cancer pathway at the end of March was 67.5 per cent. She said: 'It is our best performance by some way but there are a lot of other indicators that sit behind that and support delivery and show how committed our teams are.' The officer presented the board's annual cancer report at the May meeting while she said its latest briefing for the Welsh Government, which hasn't formed part of the report, is the average wait for a first outpatient appointment for an urgent suspected cancer is 11.9 days. She said: 'I think the target in England is 14 days so we are doing exceptionally well.' Chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz said there had been a massive increase in the number of people seen with suspected cancers in Gwent since 2019 when 29,000 people were referred for a suspected cancer. That figure increased to 43,064 in 2024 but of those only 4,995 were diagnosed with cancer which is 11.6 per cent. Ms Prygodsicz acknowledged 'the horrendous' wait of any length for confirmation but said: '38,000 people thought they had cancer and they didn't.' For many cancers national guidance is that boards reach a diagnosis and inform patients within 28 days, but the report hasn't specified Aneurin Bevan's performance against this measure. At the board meeting it was also stated patients should be encouraged to take a potential diagnosis seriously straight away rather than putting off test for holidays or other reasons. Independent board member Penny Jones urged it to share 'the good news' about cancer treatment. She said: 'Cancer is frightening. Let people know about the progress as people think 'I'll not go to the doctors, it's death'. It isn't any more in every aspect. Put the good news out there.' The report shows 58.6 per cent of people survive their cancer for five years or more across the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board area, however in the most deprived areas that figure drops to just 18 per cent. Though cancer accounted for a quarter of all deaths in Wales, in 2022, four in 10 cancers diagnosed annually in Wales could be prevented. The most common cause of cancer in Gwent, in 2023/24, was skin cancers including malignant melanoma with 993 cases, followed by 658 breast cancer cases, 526 colorectal cancers and 406 prostate cancers. READ MORE: New £38 million radiotherapy unit to open at Nevill Hall The health board is slightly above Welsh average uptake for breast, bowel and cervical cancer screenings but there is a 15 per cent difference in uptake for all screening programmes between the most and least deprived citzens. Ms Watkins said the board has to have the 'right messaging to encourage people to come forward' and said there is also a need for 'simplistic language' as she said the average reading age in Gwent is 12. 'We need to be pretty stark in terms of messaging so people can make the best choice for them.' She gave the example that giving up smoking can extend the life of someone diagnosed with lung cancer by two years.
BBC News
30-04-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Sepsis: Newport mum wants better diagnosing by NHS
The mum of a nine-year-old boy who died after developing sepsis has said the NHS needs to change to stop others dying. Sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection and happens when a person's immune system overreacts and starts to damage the body's own tissues and organs, according to the Cope, from Newport, was taken to the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, Torfaen, in December 2022 with suspected appendicitis, but was wrongfully discharged with flu before dying of septic shock, an inquest in May 2024 found. His mum Corinne Cope has been working with the Aneurin Bevan health board to implement a standardised scoring system to help diagnosis. A coroner found that Dylan's death "would have been avoided if he had not been erroneously discharged" and said what happened was "a gross failure of basic care".The senior doctor on shift on the night of Dylan's visit said GP referrals were not being printed off and put into patients' notes because the department was "well over capacity".It meant emergency doctors and nurses did not know that Dylan's GP had written "query appendicitis" and sent him home with a coughs and colds advice was readmitted to hospital on 10 December and died four days later with multi-organ disfunction caused by a perforated Cope told BBC Radio Wales Breakfast that after her son's death she discovered "thousands of people are affected by sepsis, either have disabilities or lose their life, and it often - not always - can be prevented".She said UK Sepsis Trust told her about sepsis diagnosis pilots in England and she discovered Wales was "a little bit behind". The Aneurin Bevan health board agreed to her proposal to work with the UK Sepsis Trust using the National Early Warning Score 2 method. This allocates a number to pulse rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate, oxygen levels, temperature and conscious level, which helps doctors to identify possible sepsis. Ms Cope said losing her son was "searingly painful every day".She added: "I just want to do what I can and continue this good work with Aneurin Bevan, but [they are] one health board out of seven so my aim is to continue working with them and the UK Sepsis Trust to ensure this approach is monitored, maintained and measured."
Wales Online
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Wales Online
15 pictures that show thousands protesting divisive Supreme Court ruling
Thousands of people took to Cardiff streets on Easter Monday to join country-wide protests against the Supreme Court's ruling on the definition of a woman. Trans rights campaigners marched from the Aneurin Bevan statue on Queen Street to Central Square waving banners, flags and singing chants. The Supreme Court ruling last week stated that "woman and sex in the Equality Act 2010 refer to a biological woman and biological sex". This came following the legal challenge brought about by For Women Scotland (FWS) against the Scottish Parliament. WalesOnline spoke to those at the march. One campaigner called the ruling "insanity", while someone who identifies as "transmasculine" said they felt "immediately scared when the news came out". The ruling has been hugely divisive with many people labelling it a backwards step in the fight for equality, whilst others have celebrated the verdict. A march also took place in Swansea on Saturday. See pictures from that here. Here are 15 of the best photos from the march.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Calls for inquiry into GP management 'scandal'
There have been calls for an independent inquiry into the "scandal" surrounding an under-fire GP management company. Safety, staffing and supply concerns at surgeries managed by eHarley Street were revealed by BBC Wales in November, with "potentially catastrophic" shortages and hundreds of thousands of pounds allegedly owed in employee wages. At a Blaenau Gwent council meeting on 20 February, councillors from all across the political spectrum will put forward a four-point motion which includes calls for an inquiry. Earlier this month, it was revealed that a GP partnership which used the services of England-based management company eHarley Street had handed back control of several surgeries to Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, including practices in Brynmawr and Tredegar. Angry doctors owed thousands refuse to work Inquiry demand for GPs where patients feel 'unsafe' Under fire GP company hands more surgeries back Blaenau Gwent councillors previously said that they wanted to meet health chiefs to discuss issues at the surgeries, including residents struggling to book appointments as well as staff not being paid for their work. The motion said: "The scandal of eHarley Street's involvement in primary care in Blaenau Gwent and beyond reveals how patients, staff, nurses and doctors have been badly let down. "The non-payment of staff, tax and pensions contributions and suppliers has had a severe and detrimental impact on local primary care." It continued: "Blaenau Gwent is proud to be birthplace of the NHS and its founder, Aneurin Bevan. "It was created based on the collective principle of medical care available to rich and poor alike in accordance with medical need, and no other criteria." It added health inequalities in Blaenau Gwent were "some of the starkest in the UK", with life expectancy below the Welsh average and many people living with poor health and chronic conditions. "Primary care plays a vital role in early intervention and keeping people safe and well." The motion said councillors would welcome the resignation of the partnership from all surgeries in Blaenau Gwent for which it holds contracts. It also urged health minister Jeremy Miles to commission an urgent review into GP contracts in Wales. The motion is backed by deputy council leader, Helen Cunningham, and her Labour colleagues Peter Baldwin, Sonia Behr, Jules Gardner, Tommy Smith, Jacqueline Thomas, and Lisa Winnett. The opposition Independent group leader, Wayne Hodgins, has also signed the motion along with John Hill and Lee Parsons from the Independent group and non-aligned Independent councillor George Humphreys. NHS bosses took months to meet over GP firm complaints Private sector can ease pressure on NHS, says GP
