REVIEW OF 2011: January and February

SURGES in demand, coupled with the worst winter weather in a generation and difficult road conditions, combined to put the Welsh ambulance service under huge pressure.

Patients in Gwent were among the hardest hit, as emergency response times suffered.

The situation was compounded by delays in hospital accident and emergency departments, where ambulance crews were often delayed in handing over patients, meaning they could not get back on the road as quickly as required.

The service had already endured testing weather conditions in late November and much of December as snow arrived early.

A continuation of this, along with increasing numbers of 999 calls, resulted in some extremely long waits for patients needing to be taken to hospitals.

Among the patients’ stories featured in the Argus were those of 86-year-old Hazel Collier, from Newport, who waited 10 hours for an ambulance after being found face down on the floor in her care home room following a fall, and an 80-year-old Newport man, who did not want to be named, who also waited 10 hours after suffering a stroke.

On January 22, two days after these stories appeared, the Argus highlighted the story of 67-year-old Newport man John Davies, who was taken the short distance to the Royal Gwent from his home in Pill in a fire engine because no ambulances were available.

He had suffered severe burns and smoke inhalation during a fire in his flat.

Two days later, 85-year-old Gwyneth Higgins, from Cwmbran, waited eight increasingly painful hours for an ambulance after a fall at her home. She then waited a further four-and-a-half hours for transfer from A&E to the medical assessment unit.

Her son Adrian Higgins challenged then Assembly health minister Edwina Hart and other politicians to come and see the situation for themselves and asked: “Do they think it is good enough in 2011 for people to have to wait that long, and longer, for help?”

Earlier in January we reported that over a 22-month period, 20,000 ambulance crew working hours had been ‘lost’ - mainly at the Royal Gwent, and also at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny - because of delays in handing patients over to A&E staff.

Handovers should take 15 minutes, with ambulances being ready to go back on the road in 20 minutes, and any time over that was deemed to be lost.

The situation has since improved considerably, particularly the issue of long handover waits, which are classed as an hour or more.

SIGN UP: Sara Griffiths, of Raglan, who received a kidney transplant in 1995, urged people to sign the donor register

January 4:

MORE than 30 organ transplants were carried out for Gwent people in 2010, the Argus reported, with the NHS blood and transplant service hailing a record year for organ donations.

Thirty-two organ transplants and 20 cornea transplants had been carried out , contributing to a record year for the UK as a whole.

But Lynda Hamlyn, service chief executive, said that with 10,000 people still waiting for transplants across the UK, including 76 in Gwent, more people were needed to join the 17.7 million already on the UK organ donor register.

Echoing that message was Sara Griffiths, from Raglan, who received a new kidney in 1995 to replace organs damaged through diabetes, and who 12 years later received a new pancreas which freed her from the diabetes.

“I would be long dead had I not had my kidney transplant.

It’s not just about lifesaving, it’s also about quality of life,”

she said.

January 6:

SIDRA Afzal enjoyed her first day back at school in almost a year, after the final stage of pioneering treatment to repair a badly burned scalp.

The nine-year-old, from Fleur-De-Lys, went back to the village primary school after completing treatments that saw a special balloon device inserted under her scalp, which was then gradually inflated to encourage the skin to grow. The balloon was then removed when there was enough skin to cover the damaged area.

Sidra had suffered head and neck burns in a kitchen accident involving hot cooking oil when she was just two years old. She needed to go to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, weekly for check-ups and balloon inflation.

January 8:

SNOW returned to parts of Gwent, with a number of schools closed and road conditions described as treacherous.

Monmouthshire and Gwent Valleys areas were worst affected, but the snow was not expected to last.

The fall came on a day when it was revealed that the snow and freezing temperatures that hit much of the UK during December 2010 had badly affected sales for Newport traders.

Almost 200,000 fewer people came into the city to shop during that month than in December 2009, when 962,000 visited.

The weather was a big factor, but traders warned that shopper numbers had been dwindling anyway.

MOVING ON: Manager Dean Holdsworth left Newport County to join Aldershot

January 10:

IT was all change on the managerial front at Newport County, with boss Dean Holdsworth quitting the Blue Square Premier League club for League Two Aldershot.

Holdsworth, who steered the club to promotion from the Blue Square Conference South in 2009/10, told the Argus: “This isn’t a quick decision. I have agonised about this and gave myself time to evaluate the pros and cons.”

But he added that the lure of Football League management was strong, and a challenge though he was proud of what he had achieved at Spytty Park.

Two days later, it was confirmed that the club’s director of football Tim Harris, a former County manager, would take over on a caretaker basis.

ANSWERS: Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, answered question from staff in Newport after it was announced the Passport Office would close

January 18:

THE loss of the Passport Office could cost Newport £37 million, according to the results of research carried out for the city council.

Economic analysts AECOM forecast the local economy could lose £11 million a year as the result of the proposed closure and loss of 283 jobs.

Shops faced a further £1m loss, with a potential £25m lost in future investment through a loss of confidence by businesses.

Council leader Matthew Evans said closure would greatly affect Newport’s chances of encouraging inward investment.

SUSPENDED: Paul Turner’s days as Newport Gwent Dragons coach came to an end in February after an initial suspension in January

January 29:

THE five-year reign of Newport Gwent Dragons coach Paul Turner was plunged into doubt after he was suspended.

Turner was at the centre of of disciplinary inquiry led by Dragons chief executive Mike Jenkins.

He angered the Welsh Rugby Union with his comments about its fitness testing of flanker Dan Lydiate, who had been struggling to overcome a neck injury he claimed had been made worse.

He apologised for the way he had talked about the issue in public, but was then involved in a heated dispute with a reporter after a Heineken Cup defeat to Glasgow.

February 1:

THE boss of the government agency that wants to shut Newport’s Passport Office was greeted with a chorus of hissing and booing when she paid a visit.

Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the Identity and Passport Service, was in the city for question and answer sessions with staff.

Around 20 workers heckled her as she entered the building.

Protesters, who included union officials, held placards calling for the Passport Office to remain open and chanted “save our jobs.” Around 300 posts were in jeopardy.

February 5:

NEWPORT mum-to-be Nikitta Grender, 19, was found with fatal stab wounds at her Broadmead Park home in the early hours, after firefighters were called to a blaze at her flat. Nine days later 26-yearold Carl Whant, of no fixed address, appeared before magistrates charged with her murder.

He has been in custody pending trial, which is due to take place next year.

February 10:

COACH Paul Turner and Newport Gwent Dragons parted company after five-and-ahalf years, following an internal inquiry into disciplinary issues.

Assistant coach Darren Edwards was appointed as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

Turner’s association with the Dragons was ended by mutual consent, a statement concluding: “The region wishes to express its thanks to Paul for the work he has done in the past few years, and to wish him all the best for the future.”

TRAFFIC TROUBLE: A fire closed the Brynglas Tunnels in Newport causing traffic chaos, Picture: South Wales Fire and Rescue

February 11:

PEOPLE were forced to abandon their cars on the M4 and flee to safety after a fire broke out in the Brynglas Tunnels.

A Jaguar car developed a fault and caught fire in the westbound tunnel at around 11am, forcing the motorway’s closure and causing traffic disruption across Newport.

Firefighters battled through thick smoke to extinguish the fire, with the incident closing the road for two hours.

Remarkably, no-one was injured, but 11 other vehicles in the tunnel were abandoned by their drivers.

“It could have been a lot worse. It was down to the quick actions of the following drivers to disembark their vehicles and leave as quickly as possible,” said Tim Needs, watch manager at Malpas fire station.

EXCELLENCE: Consultant midwife Grace Thomas picked up an Excellence in Education award from the Royal College of Midwives

February 14:

A GWENT midwife’s work on a new training programme using similar technology to that in Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? helped earn a UK award.

Grace Thomas, consultant midwife with Aneurin Bevan Health Board, picked up a Royal College of Midwives excellence in midwifery education award with colleagues from the University of Glamorgan, for their Medicines and Midwives project.

The project aims to teach midwives how to administer medicines safely and effectively, allowing them during training to experience real-life situations on a large screen, voting for which treatments they would give.

The package helps students communicate as a group, and allows them to discuss ideas.

CAMPAIGN: Gwent miners received more than £88 million in compensation for chest diseases after a long battle that was backed by the Argus

February 16:

THOUSANDS of Gwent miners and their families received justice for the effect on their health, by receiving more than £88 million in compensation for chest diseases, the Argus revealed.

This newspaper campaigned long and hard over several years to ensure the miners’ suffering did not go unnoticed, demanding payback for those who developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from working in pits acrossWales. We fought to ensure claims were freed from a mire of red tape and delays.

Department of Energy and Climate Change figures revealed more than 20,000 claims were made in Gwent.

February 23:

SHOCKING figures revealed that 17,000 children in Gwent live below the poverty line.

A Save The Children report said 18 per cent of youngsters in Newport, Caerphilly and Torfaen live in poverty – 14,000 across the three areas.

Blaenau Gwent had the highest proportion of child poverty inWales, one-in-five children there going without a decent meal or living in a home without heat.

The charity calculates the poverty line by looking at households earning less than 50 per cent of the average wage, and the numbers of children whose families cannot afford things like school trips or holidays.

WORLD CLASS: A bid was prepared to win Newport’s iconic Transporter Bridge World Heritage site status

February 24:

NEWPORT’s Transporter Bridge was being lined up to join the likes of the Taj Mahal and the GreatWall of China as aWorld Heritage site.

The imposing 105-year-old structure, together with its 100-year-old counterpart in Middlesbrough and a smaller 1915 bridge atWarrington, Cheshire, form the world’s highest concentration of transporter bridges.

Supporters of the three bridges were making the bid jointly under the banner of the British branch of the World Association of Transporter Bridges.