THE PEMBROKESHIRE HERALD FRIDAY JANUARY 30 2015


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21 News LHB collaboration helps improve access to health HYWEL DDA UNIVERSITY


HEALTH BOARD has been collaborating with Pembrokeshire County Council, Royal Voluntary Service and Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport Organisations in order to improve access to Health Services. A dedicated Council vehicle and driver is now being provided to the Health Board for undertaking patient journeys to and from Withybush Hospital. Over 200 patients were conveyed during December alone, with over 1,500 in total since April 2014.


Pembrokeshire County Council,


Hywel Dda Health Board and Royal Voluntary Service have collaborated to run a six month pilot to enable journeys to hospital appointments to be accommodated by Pembrokeshire Country Cars. This will ease the


over-demand on the Ambulance Car Service and make it easier for existing service users as they will only need to phone one number for transport.


The Council has worked collaboratively with Hywel Dda Health Board regarding the new bus stop and shelter inside the grounds of Withybush Hospital. As from last November the Haverfordwest Town Service has been serving the new bus stop.


Last summer the PIVOT


Project was established to prevent inappropriate hospital admissions and


reduce support Service, required


from statutory agencies. This is a collaboration between Royal Voluntary


British Red


Cross, Pembrokeshire Age Cymru, Pembrokeshire Care & Repair and Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport


Signs cost £1600 more than the Health Board claimed


CLAIMS that the Health Board


paid over £2,800 for signs publicising its commitment to revamp cancer services at Withybush were incorrect, The Pembrokeshire Herald can reveal. On Thursday morning (Jan


29), local campaigner Lyn Neville forwarded us a response to a Freedom of Information Act request her sent to the Local Health Board. That response reveals that the cost of the signs to the Board was actually over £1600 more than previously reported. Lyn, of Pembrokeshire Cancer


Support, told us: “The response to my request includes the statement that all partners agreed. Paul Hawkins said in public he alone made the decision. So, while ‘all agreed’ is still the official line, the person responsible for the signs’ commission and erection is on record as saying something else


altogether.” At the time the original figure was


publicised, Lyn Neville told us: “I was never asked for my opinion on the sign and I had no idea the Board were going to spend £3,000 on it. As it happens, I gave my view to Sue Lewis (the Board’s county director) that I wanted nothing to do with the sign. I consider it more important that the Board acts in good faith and carries through on its promises than trumpet its intentions on a sign.”


Chris Evans-Thomas, of Adams


Bucketful of Hope, said: “The Board needed to give a visible commitment and communicate with the public. The sign does that.”


The Board has said that the signs were paid for out the Board’s capital budget and not out of charitable funds or funds earmarked for use on the Unit’s development and construction


Fuel syphoned in Tenby BETWEEN 2pm on Friday


January 16, and 2pm January 17, there was an alleged theft of fuel from a vehicle at the multistorey car park in Tenby. The fuel was syphoned from a


vehicle parked in a private bay on the first floor (second level) of the car park.


Anyone with information is asked


to contact Tenby Police Station on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.


Cannabis smoker guilty A RECREATIONAL cannabis


smoker has been fined for possession of the drug, after police were called to his flat when a microwave pizza caught fire. Lewis


Peter Evans, of Main


Street, Pembroke was arrested for the possession of 12.3 grams of the class B drug cannabis on November 17. Police also confiscated silver scales, which are used in weighing the drug.


Defending 34 year old Evans was Jonathan Webb, who said Evans had a stressful job, which lead to his recreational drug use. He added that Evans pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity. He was fined £200, along with


court charges of £85 and victim surcharge of £20. A destruction order was also issued for the drugs and the scales.


Organisations.


Community transport vehicles are used to transport people at risk of hospital admission because they have no means of getting home. During the first six months over 160 people utilised this service. Peter Llewellyn from the


University Health Board stated: “It is essential that we work collaboratively to improve patient access to health services in Pembrokeshire. We are


already seeing the benefit of this partnership approach to patients across the county by working with colleagues from the Local Authority and Voluntary Sector with further developments planned”. The County Council’s Cabinet


Member for Transportation, Councillor Rob Lewis, added: “We are pleased to have been involved with this scheme and to work closely with the Health Board and


the other organisations to improve public access to health services in the county.” Hywel Dda University Health Board has also now established a Central Transport Unit. Council staff met with the new transport manager of Hywel Dda Health Board at the end of September to discuss further collaboration and to provide advice and guidance in relation to fleet and pool cars.


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