Latest news with #Llais
Wales Online
14-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
Cardiff music festival returns for 2025 as first details emerge
Cardiff music festival returns for 2025 as first details emerge After a successful first year, the festival will be back this autumn Venues across the city will be hosting performances in October (Image: Shared with Reach PLC ) A successful new music festival will be returning to Wales for its second year this autumn. The dates for the Cardiff Music City Festival 2025 have been officially announced as artists gear up to perform around the capital city. The pilot festival last year brought together a number of existing music and cultural events across the city, like the Swn and Llais festivals, and showcased other major acts and pop up events at venue across the city. As well as popular Wales-based musicians - promoters and immersive tech specialists will entertain audiences through urban soundscapes, inspiring talks, and industry sessions. Cardiff Council have officially announced that the Cardiff Music City Festival will take place from Friday, October 3 to Saturday, October 18 2025. Never miss a Cardiff story by signing up to our daily newsletter here Whilst the festival this year will only take place over 15 days rather than 24 days like last year, the programme is said to be jammed packed with unique performances. Cardiff Council have confirmed the inclusion of events such as Sŵn, Wales Millennium Centre's international arts weekend, Llais, and the Welsh Music Prize. LEMFRECK won the Welsh Music Prize 2024 for album Blood, Sweat & Fears at the Wales Millennium Centre (Image: Welsh Music Prize ) Article continues below The council said: "The 2025 festival programme promises to build on the success of last year's inaugural festival and keep pushing the boundaries of music innovation, performance and technology." In the festival's first year it saw thousands of people enjoy performances from artists Leftfield and Orbital and Ms. Lauryn Hill and The Fugees, legendary bass player Pino Palladino and shows from Mercury music prize winners English Teacher, post-punk outfit Squid and Welsh talent like Mace the Great, LEMFRECK and Sage Todz. Bilingual Welsh artist, Sage Todz performed as part of the festival last year (Image: Football Association of Wales ) When creating the festival, Cardiff Council had hopes that it will build a reputation similar to well-known European festivals like Sonar Barcelona and Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg. With the city losing its nightlife venues, the Cardiff Music City Festival is a key initiative in the Cardiff Music Strategy which aims to protect, promote and develop the city's music sector. Cabinet member for culture, parks and events, Cllr Jennifer Burke, said: "Cardiff is such a vibrant city, full of music, artistic expression and innovation. Article continues below "The festival is an amazing opportunity to bring people together to celebrate that creativity and to showcase the city's diverse and exciting culture to a wider audience." Content cannot be displayed without consent
Wales Online
13-05-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Boy left in vegetative state after failings at Welsh maternity unit
Boy left in vegetative state after failings at Welsh maternity unit 'What happened to Gethin and our family, and the fight we've had since, there are nights I go to bed and I don't want to wake up the next morning' Gethin Channon was born at Swansea's Singleton Hospital in March 2019 where he was left with a serious brain injury which left him in a vegetative state due to failings prior to his birth (Image: Rob Channon ) The father of a boy with lifelong disabilities due to failings at a Welsh maternity unit has said 'there are nights I go to bed and don't want to wake up the next morning'. Sian and Rob Channon's son Gethin Channon was born at Swansea's Singleton Hospital in March 2019 where he was left with a serious brain injury which left him in a vegetative state due to failings prior to his birth. In an interview with WalesOnline Rob explained his son's heart rate in the hours before he was born was fluctuating fiercely and was far from stable. This was only realised by Sian and Rob after they'd commissioned Dr Bill Kirkup to conduct his own independent review into their son's birth at the hospital. From patient records Dr Kirkup found an emergency birth should have taken place hours before Gethin was delivered. 'That was the first we'd heard of any mistakes,' Rob recalled. 'When Gethin was discharged we had an incident report from the health board which informed us it was just one of those things that happened and that Gethin had just been unlucky. It wasn't until March 2022 when we got a report from Dr Kirkup whose report highlighted that there were a large number of avoidable mistakes that were made prior to Gethin's birth. 'When Dr Kirkup told us that we started to wonder whether Gethin was the only one and if not then how many parents and children had been left in the same position as us. The more we kept digging the more we found more information that was pointing to a maternity service which was not safe.' On Tuesday Llais Cymru published a damning report into Singleton Hospital's maternity and neonatal services which found pregnant women were left alone in labour or had to give birth outside proper areas with some mums saying their experiences at the unit put them off ever having children again. Article continues below On Tuesday Llais Cymru published a damning report into Singleton Hospital's maternity and neonatal services (Image: Richard Youle ) Llais, which represents patients in Wales, conducted interviews with more than 500 parents who had given birth at the unit. The report, which was carried out in 2024 over the course of several months, uncovered failings in safety and care while many parents said they felt ignored. Overall 76% of people who took part in the survey reported a negative experience or said there had been failures in the quality of their care. Less than half said they felt in any way involved in decisions around their care while one new mother, a healthcare professional, said she was warned complaining about her care could threaten her ability to practise in medicine in the UK. Llais could not find anyone who had an entirely positive experience at Singleton. You can read the report's findings in detail here. Rob, who off the back of the report has finally been able to meet with health minister Jeremy Miles after years trying, said of the report: 'This isn't something which has just happened. In September 2023 Healthcare Inspectorate Wales released its own damning report into every aspect of the maternity service at Singleton. 'The health inspectorate went back to the unit in April 2024 and found a litany of issues again in the maternity service. Roll forward to the present day and a report with more than 500 contributions, the vast majority of them very negative, is published. 'There are some truly shocking things in this new report. Despite our efforts constantly trying to raise awareness of what happened to Gethin and to our family in the hope of seeing some form of change we don't believe enough progress has been made since. Five hundred parents coming forward is truly staggering. 'As a family we've been fighting this fight for years. Apart from being absolutely exhausted we are really cross. If what we'd been shouting about had been addressed this report would not have come out today or certainly if it did there would not have been the incredible stuff that's in it. This whole thing could have been avoided.' Rob Channon, pictured here with son Gethin, said what happened at Singleton changed their lives immeasurably (Image: Rob Channon ) Swansea Bay University Health Board has apologised to parents who have had a 'poor experience' and said it was focused on strengthening its services. Rob explained Gethin cannot do anything unaided. 'Gethin is fed through a hole in his stomach. He isn't mobile. He can't walk, he can't crawl, he can't roll over on his own. He is entirely reliant on wheelchairs or someone carrying him. He can't talk. He can't say 'mum' or 'dad'. "The damage that has been done to his brain will never regrow. He has days where he's aware but he also has days where he has medication which switches him off because his brain is not functioning properly and he's suffering. Every aspect of his life is affected. 'Speaking very honestly, what happened to Gethin and our family and the fight we've had since, there are nights I go to bed and I don't want to wake up the next morning. That's very hard to say but I always speak honestly because there's no point hiding anything. 'Gethin's sister is his best friend and has trauma issues around it. We can't take her to the beach because we'd have to pack Gethin up into a big van with his machine. We can't go to Tesco without a lot of planning. This is how it's affected our lives.' In his meeting with the health minister on Tuesday afternoon Rob said he would be asking Mr Miles for an apology on behalf of the Welsh Government for not intervening. 'We've done a lot of thinking before finally getting this meeting. What we want first is an apology for Gethin and all those other parents affected. We want the Welsh Government to appoint independent commissioners to run the maternity service in Swansea Bay –– independent experts to run it for a year. And the third thing we want is a proper independent review of what has gone so wrong that doesn't just look at the health board and our case but how the safety issues reached such a level.' Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here. Rob explained most days are a struggle for Gethin and his family (Image: Rob Channon ) Jan Williams, chairwoman of Swansea Bay University Health Board, said it didn't underestimate how difficult it will have been for those with negative experiences to have relived them while contributing to Llais' report. "That's why we would like to once again apologise to and acknowledge the trauma and stress suffered by individuals with a poor experience or adverse outcomes," she said. "We also welcome the report's equal balance with the good examples of care and experience and agree that we need these to be much more consistent." Health board chief executive Abi Harris said it was fully focused on strengthening services and that Llais' findings have been shared with the separate independent review. Other clinical review work, she said, has also been carried out. She added: "As the Llais report shows we are making improvements and investments in quality, services, staffing, and how we listen to and act on what people tell us about their care and experience." Dr Denise Chaffer, chairwoman of Swansea Bay maternity and neonatal services independent review, thanked all those who contributed to Llais' report. She said: "This report provides important feedback on some of the experiences that women and families have had when using maternity services in Swansea over the last few years – all of this vital information will form part of the independent review." Article continues below The Welsh Government said its main concern was for the welfare of the mothers and babies. In a statement it said: "Considerable work is ongoing to improve the safety and quality of maternity services in Swansea Bay but as the Llais report indicates there is still more to do to improve the experiences for all women." It added it had commissioned an assessment of the safety and quality of all maternity units in Wales to "measure the impact of recent interventions made".
Wales Online
11-05-2025
- Health
- Wales Online
Revelations over crisis-hit hospital 'are extremely upsetting'
Revelations over crisis-hit hospital 'are extremely upsetting' 'The issues in this report show not just individual mistakes, but deeper problems with the culture and systems. These must be dealt with urgently and honestly' The University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff (Image: Huw Evans Agency ) A health watchdog has called for "accountability" at Wales' biggest hospital after a damning report revealed crime, racism and an "unsafe" workplace. Llais described the revelations over University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff as "extremely upsetting" and called for the issues to be addressed "urgently and honestly." The 22-page comprehensive service review of the hospital's operating theatres reveals staff felt serious problems were not dealt with by leaders, including a series of thefts and the discovery of illegal drugs in a staff locker. The findings include: "Inappropriate and racist remarks" were made by a senior leader who said a group of Indian nurses needed name badges because they "all looked the same". Female staff felt unable to leave anything of value in the changing room because of the "regularity" of theft, which included money, phones, computers and clothing going missing. An "atmosphere of fear" had gone "a long way to destroying the bonds which allow people to work effectively together". Staff felt there were "no consequences" after an illegal drug — understood to be speed — was allegedly found in the locker of one employee, who continues to work at the hospital. Some anaesthetic practitioners were not always in theatre for the whole operation, instead watching Netflix in the anaesthetic room. The report has now sparked a statement from Llais, an independent body set up by the Welsh Government in 2023 to give people more influence in shaping health and social care. A spokeswoman for Llais said: "These findings are extremely upsetting for patients, their families, and the public, who expect to receive safe and respectful care." Llais was particularly concerned that there had been "failures around patient consent and not using safety checklists properly" — an issue first revealed by WalesOnline before the report's publication. We also revealed a separate investigation into allegations that family members of staff watched surgery on unaware patients without authorisation. Article continues below Lauranne Cullen, regional director for Llais in Cardiff and Vale, said: 'These findings are shocking and very disappointing. Patients must feel safe and respected in every part of the NHS – especially in operating theatres, where they are most vulnerable. "The issues in this report show not just individual mistakes, but deeper problems with the culture and systems. These must be dealt with urgently and honestly." Ms Cullen vowed Llais would make sure Cardiff and Vale University health board hears the public's views. She added: "There must be clear accountability, and a real commitment to rebuilding trust, safety, and professionalism in these services." It comes after Andrew RT Davies, MS for South Wales Central and former leader of the Welsh Tories, called for an "urgent intervention" from health secretary Jeremy Miles. Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Davies said: "The senior team at [the health board] have allowed this to happen and clearly are not in control of the situation. Direct ministerial intervention is required to put confidence back." Mr Miles responded that it was "shocking" to read the report and he was particularly concerned that staff had previously felt unable to speak up. He said he would be meeting the chair of the health board and demanding "concrete plans" to implement the 66 recommendations. The health board said the report was a "difficult read" and apologised to those affected. It has vowed to implement the long list of recommendations. You can read the full findings of the report here. Llais wants to hear from anyone who has concerns or experiences of the hospital that they would like to share. You can contact the watchdog here. Ms Cullen said: "The public will expect action to be taken quickly, with full openness and independent checks to make sure improvements happen. "We understand that many people who have used this hospital may be worried or upset by this news. We want to reassure you that Llais is here to listen." Article continues below
Powys County Times
26-04-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Letter: Powys Health Board refuses to listen to the public
We are rapidly running out of time to restore Llanidloes Hospital to its core role of providing medical care for the local community. Last autumn, Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) implemented what they described as a temporary (six-month) policy of removing medical services at the site in order to address serious problems of bed-blocking in Welsh hospitals, by using the hospital as a de facto care home. This was done despite almost universal opposition to the plans from all sections of the community. Only Fools and Horses star nearly turned down this iconic role - here's why M&S releases 'absolutely divine' version of viral Dubai-style chocolate bar Builth Wells youngster Deri Mason shines for top Welsh rugby invitational side All political parties, current and previous health staff including GPs, and many others spoke passionately and knowledgeably about why this 'temporary' repurposing was unwanted and inappropriate. PTHB essentially refused to listen. The Welsh Government replaced Community Health Councils with the current body, Llais. Llais is supposed to have its finger on the pulse of the community relating to health and care matters, and ensure that PTHB is appropriately responsive to local needs and wishes. Unfortunately, there was no evidence during last year's 'consultations' that Llais had sought or heard any representation from the local community. And now, when they should be consulting with the public in south Montgomeryshire to ensure that their voice is given due weight, there is more silence. If you live within the catchment affected by the presence (or absence) of the hospital in Llanidloes, and have a view on the matter, please contact governance@ and/or as soon as possible.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Abuse, assault, burnout, unsafe conditions, patients put in danger - the words of a nurse working inside a Welsh A&E
Poor management, staff burnout, unsafe patient conditions and abuse are just some of the serious problems facing emergency departments in Wales, a nurse has claimed. The A&E nurse based in Wales said she feels 'compelled to speak out' about the 'increasingly unsafe' conditions faced by staff that she sees at work on a daily basis. The nurse, who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation, has come forward after damning findings were uncovered by Llais. The independent body set up by the Welsh Government looked into the experience of patients and families at A&E departments across Wales. READ MORE: M4 and M48 closed after 'human remains' discovered READ MORE: Man suffers 'multiple stab wounds' after incident in Merthyr Tydfil Starting in late September 2024, over the course of five weeks Llais' teams across the country visited emergency departments, minor injury units and medical assessment units across each health board region to assess people's experiences. Stay informed on the latest health news by signing up to our newsletter here In total 42 visits were undertaken and 700 people were spoken to at the emergency settings in their local areas. What Llais found was alarming and distressing, with it concluding that emergency care in Wales is at breaking point. One patient went as far to describe their time at one emergency department as being like a 'warzone'. The nurse, who approached WalesOnline, said she has decided to share her own experiences "because the public has a right to know about the serious risks we face daily'. On a regular basis she said as few as two or three nurses have to care for more than 70 patients in a waiting room at a given time. She said: 'Currently, we are often tasked with caring for over 70 patients in the waiting room with just three staff nurses and only two staff nurses if we are short staffed. This isn't just an occasional occurrence. This is an impossible workload that jeopardises patient safety and staff well-being. 'Compounding the issue is the recent decision to remove overtime shifts to save money, leaving many staff struggling to make ends meet. Although they are still covering some shifts with agency staff - which costs them a great deal more and aren't always familiar with the area and the workload.' The nurse went on to list a number of alarming concerns including issues around poor management, staff burnout, unsafe patient conditions, abuse and assault, and pressure to meet targets being prioritised over patient care. She said: 'Any concerns raised about unsafe conditions or new processes are dismissed, with cost-saving measures and targets prioritised over patient care and staff welfare. We are often told in safety briefings the things that we aren't doing but not given any additional tools or staff to be able to do these things. Describing a 'lack of support and poor communication from management', she said: 'Any concerns raised about unsafe conditions or new processes are dismissed, with cost-saving measures and targets prioritised over patient care and staff welfare. We are often told in safety briefings the things that we aren't doing but not given any additional tools or staff to be able to do these things.' She described a lack of space for patients, leaving seriously unwell patients having to sit on chairs for periods of time. 'There is not enough space for patients, leading to critically unwell individuals being left on chairs when they require more intensive care,' she said. 'Patients are dangerously waiting hours for triage, and we often have to improvise with equipment. It's not unusual that we are out of stock of important equipment or things are broken and unusable.' Frequently she said staff face abuse and physical assault - something she believes has gotten worse in recent times. 'The level of verbal and physical abuse from patients and relatives has become alarmingly high. Staff are not adequately protected or supported in these situations. We used to have security specifically for A&E but no longer do. McDonald's on a Saturday night has but not A&E!' She claimed that there is a pressure to meet targets which is often prioritised caring for patients in a dignified way. She said: 'An example of this is being told to transfer a patient to the ward while still on a bedpan, highlighting a complete disregard for patient dignity and proper care. This isn't a one off example there are so many more like this.' As a result of all the challenges facing staff and patients, she said many colleagues face burnout and will be off sick at a time, with others leaving the profession permanently due to stress. She said: 'Many colleagues are going off sick due to work-related stress, with some leaving the profession entirely because they feel unable to provide the level of care they aspire to.' She added: 'Despite these challenges, my colleagues and I work tirelessly to provide the best care we can. We all became nurses to care for people. However, we are falling short of the standards patients deserve, and it is heartbreaking for all of us.' A Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'We greatly value the NHS workforce in Wales and the vital work they do. We recognise improvements need to be made to the quality of care in emergency departments but a whole system approach is necessary to support progress 'We continue to work with employers and unions to deliver the working environment and conditions our NHS staff need to continue providing high-quality care for the people of Wales.'
