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Powys County Times
23-05-2025
- Health
- Powys County Times
Calls to tackle 'disastrous' Powys ambulance wait times
Calls have been made to tackle 'disastrous' ambulance wait times in Powys. A call for action has been made to tackle long ambulance waiting times in Powys following the publication of new statistics. New figures showed that in Powys, only 40 per cent of red calls, the most serious category of incidents, were answered within target times. This is compared to 50 per cent across Wales. Meanwhile, 61 per cent of amber calls, which include strokes and heart attacks, took over 60 minutes to respond to. Other data showed 608,000 people were still on an NHS waiting list across Wales, while more than 8,389 people were waiting over two years to start treatment. The Welsh Liberal Democrats have stated that Labour's management of the NHS in Wales over the last 25 years has been a 'disaster' for the public and said their top priority in next year's Senedd elections would be to fix social care to relieve pressure on hospitals and the ambulance service. They said many hospitals in Wales and in Shropshire and Herefordshire are unable to discharge patients because social care packages aren't available, leading to bed blocking and ambulances queuing outside A&E units. 'Today's statistics are the latest in a long line that paint a really disastrous image of Labour's management of the NHS in Wales over the last 25 years,' said Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member for Mid & West Wales Jane Dodds. 'But behind every single one of these statistics are real people, real families being impacted by the inability to get the help they deserve when they need it. 'We must see real action to drive down waiting lists and relieve the pressure on our emergency departments and hospitals. That is why the Welsh Liberal Democrats will continue to make fixing social care our number one priority. Help support trusted local news Sign up for a digital subscription now: As a digital subscriber you will get Unlimited access to the County Times website Advert-light access Reader rewards Full access to our app MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe, David Chadwick, added that he had 'countless' constituents bring the problem up with him. 'People should be able to have confidence that during their hour of need, the NHS will be there to protect them,' said Mr Chadwick. 'Sadly in Wales, that hasn't been the case for some time. 'I've had countless constituents contact me since being elected, outlining the trauma they have had whilst trying to get hold of an ambulance during an emergency. 'None of this is the fault of our heroic ambulance staff of NHS workers, but it is the symptom of a failing system. 'We need to reform social care and ensure patients can be discharged back into the community as quickly as possible.'
Telegraph
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
Lib Dem councillor ‘took part in pro-Palestine protest at police station'
Mr Majid, of M&M Solicitors, said: 'The conclusion of the matter today, resulting in one of the two charges laid against him being dismissed, is a great weight lifted off the shoulders of councillor Latif, who has had this matter hanging over his head for some time. 'Councillor Latif is pleased with the outcome of his case and is grateful to his legal team for their assistance and will now continue to serve his constituents in his capacity as councillor.' After the sentence, a Cardiff Council spokesman said: 'A conditional discharge by a magistrates' court does not preclude a Councillor from acting in the office of member of a Local Authority in Wales. 'In due course, it will be a matter for the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales to consider whether the actions of the councillor will meet the threshold of an investigation of a potential breach of Cardiff Council's Members' Code of Conduct.' The Welsh Liberal Democrats said they will now review the incident that took place in June 2024 through their internal processes.
South Wales Argus
21-04-2025
- General
- South Wales Argus
River Teifi is UK's fifth most sewage polluted river
The Teifi, which forms the boundary between Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, up from ninth position last year, shares its unenviable position with rivers such as the Avon, Tent and Ouse, seeing a staggering 2,232 sewage dumps in 2024 - lasting 22,288 hours. Other local rivers also saw significant amounts of sewage dumping, including: The River Solva, polluted by sewage 58 times, lasting 944 hours. The River Cleddau, polluted by sewage 953 times, lasting 10,838 hours. The River Nevern, polluted by sewage 347 times, lasting 5,181 hours. The rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol in Aberystwyth, polluted by sewage 246 times, lasting 1,844 hours. The Welsh Liberal Democrats, who have been campaigning to clean up Welsh rivers over several years, have stated that the new figures were 'catastrophic' for local wildlife and risk damaging tourism and public health. Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Candidate for Ceredigion Penfro Sandra Jervis said: 'The Welsh Liberal Democrats have consistently pressed both the UK and Welsh Governments to take meaningful action on this growing environmental crisis. Yet, Welsh Labour has remained asleep at the wheel—using Dŵr Cymru's status as an arm's-length body as an excuse to avoid proper regulation and accountability. 'As a result, we've seen Dŵr Cymru hike customer bills and hand out ridiculously large bonuses to its executives, all while ranking among the worst water polluters in the UK. 'Our rivers and seas are vital to our wildlife, our culture, and our economy—particularly tourism—and they deserve far better stewardship.' A Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water spokesperson said: 'We are currently investing more than £20m to redevelop Cardigan Wastewater Treatment works, which is known to be a significant contributor to our spills on the Teifi. 'Alongside this we are investing £5m on three other sites along the Teifi to improve river water quality. 'The main reason for the problems on the Teifi is phosphate pollution, 66 per cent of that polluting load comes from land use and agriculture, 30 per cent from treatment works and three per cent of the problem is from storm overflows. 'We operate over 2,300 storm overflows in Wales as we have a very high number of assets for a relatively small population. 'Many of our rural communities are served by smaller sewerage networks and storm overflows, which are essential to ensure networks do not become overwhelmed and flood properties. A spill from a very small rural overflow in Wales counts the same as a huge storm overflow in a large UK city that you could drive a bus through. 'Also, as a country on the western side of the UK, we have some of the highest levels of rainfall. The more rainfall, the more times the sewer system is at capacity and will spill. 'Wales has some of the best bathing waters in the UK and 44 per cent of our rivers in Wales are in good ecological status compared to 14 per cent in England. 'Over the next five years we'll invest £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment, including £889m on investigating and improving storm overflows.'
Western Telegraph
21-04-2025
- General
- Western Telegraph
River Teifi is UK's fifth most sewage polluted river
The Teifi, which forms the boundary between Ceredigion, Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire, up from ninth position last year, shares its unenviable position with rivers such as the Avon, Tent and Ouse, seeing a staggering 2,232 sewage dumps in 2024 - lasting 22,288 hours. Other local rivers also saw significant amounts of sewage dumping, including: The River Solva, polluted by sewage 58 times, lasting 944 hours. The River Cleddau, polluted by sewage 953 times, lasting 10,838 hours. The River Nevern, polluted by sewage 347 times, lasting 5,181 hours. The rivers Ystwyth and Rheidol in Aberystwyth, polluted by sewage 246 times, lasting 1,844 hours. The Welsh Liberal Democrats, who have been campaigning to clean up Welsh rivers over several years, have stated that the new figures were 'catastrophic' for local wildlife and risk damaging tourism and public health. Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Candidate for Ceredigion Penfro Sandra Jervis said: 'The Welsh Liberal Democrats have consistently pressed both the UK and Welsh Governments to take meaningful action on this growing environmental crisis. Yet, Welsh Labour has remained asleep at the wheel—using Dŵr Cymru's status as an arm's-length body as an excuse to avoid proper regulation and accountability. 'As a result, we've seen Dŵr Cymru hike customer bills and hand out ridiculously large bonuses to its executives, all while ranking among the worst water polluters in the UK. 'Our rivers and seas are vital to our wildlife, our culture, and our economy—particularly tourism—and they deserve far better stewardship.' A Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water spokesperson said: 'We are currently investing more than £20m to redevelop Cardigan Wastewater Treatment works, which is known to be a significant contributor to our spills on the Teifi. 'Alongside this we are investing £5m on three other sites along the Teifi to improve river water quality. 'The main reason for the problems on the Teifi is phosphate pollution, 66 per cent of that polluting load comes from land use and agriculture, 30 per cent from treatment works and three per cent of the problem is from storm overflows. 'We operate over 2,300 storm overflows in Wales as we have a very high number of assets for a relatively small population. 'Many of our rural communities are served by smaller sewerage networks and storm overflows, which are essential to ensure networks do not become overwhelmed and flood properties. A spill from a very small rural overflow in Wales counts the same as a huge storm overflow in a large UK city that you could drive a bus through. 'Also, as a country on the western side of the UK, we have some of the highest levels of rainfall. The more rainfall, the more times the sewer system is at capacity and will spill. 'Wales has some of the best bathing waters in the UK and 44 per cent of our rivers in Wales are in good ecological status compared to 14 per cent in England. 'Over the next five years we'll invest £2.5bn on projects to improve the environment, including £889m on investigating and improving storm overflows.'
