The next meeting of the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel will take place in Carmarthen this Friday (July 27, 10.30am at County Hall).
Topics up for discussion include the annual report of the the Police and Crime Commissioner Dafydd Llywelyn, which sets out his priorities and decisions around spending and accountability over the last 12 months.
Members of the panel, made up of representatives of the four local authorities in the force area and two independent members, will also have the opportunity to scrutinise the Commissioner’s decisions.
The Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Panel has a number of powers and responsibilities including reviewing the Commissioner’s conduct, scrutinising his actions and decisions, dealing with complaints against the Commissioner and reviewing his plans and budgets.
Public meetings are held several times a year across the Dyfed-Powys region, recently at Builth Wells, Aberaeron and Haverfordwest.
Members of the public can put questions to the Commissioner on the agenda, as well as attend the meetings.
Staff working on two pioneering research projects at Aberystwyth University have been selected for special recognition during Graduation Week 2018.
The Award for Exceptional Impact in Science Research was presented to Dr Andy Hardy from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences for a project which is using drones to help eliminate malaria.
The Award for Exceptional Impact in Social Science, Arts and Humanities Research was presented to Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics for their work on informingcontemporary policy on minority languages, including Welsh.
The awards have been established by the University’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Elizabeth Treasure to recognise the achievements of staff who demonstrably use their research for the wider benefit of society and the inaugural winners were honoured during Graduation on Friday 20 July 2018.
Mapping Malaria
A lecturer in Remote Sensing and GPS at Aberystwyth, Dr Andy Hardy is leading a project on the island of Zanzibar using drones to map water bodies such as rivers, swamps and rice paddies where malaria-carrying mosquitoes breed and lay eggs.
The images from the drone are uploaded to a smartphone app enabling members of the local community to precisely identify where to put low-level toxicity larvicide and kill mosquito larvae at source.
Speaking about the project, Dr Hardy said: “This is a community-led intervention aimed at reducing the population of malarial carrying mosquitoes and thereby reducing malaria infection across the island, contributing to Zanzibar’s efforts to eliminate the disease once and for all. The hope is we can take this methodology and apply it across sub-Saharan Africa to have a real impact on malaria, which is one of the world’s biggest killers.”
The project is funded by the Innovative Vector control consortium, a not-for-profit company supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, UK Aid and other organisations.
Minority Language Revitalisation
Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics are working together on a research programme on minority language revitalisation.
Senior Lecturer Dr Elin Royles said: “Responding to the worldwide decline in linguistic and cultural diversity is increasingly seen as a global challenge which is occupying the attention of various campaigners and policy makers. As part of our research work, we’ve worked with the University of Edinburg to set up a network bringing together a range of different academic scholars and policy practitioners. Our overall aim, based on those discussions, is to identify best practice and help inform policy makers not only in Wales but also in other countries involved in trying to promote minority languages.”
Lecturer Dr Huw Lewis said: “One of the big questions for us is to what extent are those who are involved in developing and formulating policies to revitalise minority languages are really taking account of the global changes in the way we live our lives today and the implications of these transformations for language promotion efforts.”
Dr Catrin Edwards, a lecturer in the Department of International Politics and an expert on the implications of international migration for minority lanuage communities, said: “Wales is an evident example of the efforts to respond to the global challenge of revitalising minority language, with the Welsh Government setting a target of realising a million Welsh speakers by 2050. Our work aims to identify lessons from research that can be fed into the work of policy makers both in Wales and the wider world.”
Revitalise is a two-year project which is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).
Photo: Aberystwyth University’s inaugural Awards for Exceptional Impact in Research were presented during Graduation 2018 by Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Grattan to Dr Andy Hardy from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, and Dr Catrin Wyn Edwards, Dr Huw Lewis and Dr Elin Royles from the Department of International Politics with Pro Vice-Chancellor Professor John Grattan.
Carmarthenshire County Council is starting a £4m programme of major road resurfacing on a number of roads around the county.
Carmarthenshire has the second largest road network in Wales and has secured £2.2m in funding from Welsh Government to add to its own budgets to enable a substantial investment in the county’s roads. The works being undertaken will repair many existing roads and help sustain the highway network for the future.
Nearly 100 sections of road will be resurfaced in total with some of the routes selected to support the forthcoming 2018 OVO Energy Tour of Britain cycle race in September.
Motorists are urged to exercise patience when works are being undertaken and to be aware of any advance warning signs and diversion routes which are put in place to help motorists.
A number of roads have already been resurfaced and we thank you for your patience whilst this has been underway.
More work is coming up in Carmarthen, at:
Coracle Way to Blue Street: July 30 – August 6
Towy Ford Roundabout: August 6-10
Work will be carried out during off-peak hours with road closures and diversions in operation from 7pm. Please take extra care and where possible plan an alternative route. Emergency access and access to business premises will be maintained during the works.
Works are also planned for Carmarthen between Tanerdy roundabout and Francis Well roundabout. The dates for these works will be publicised in the coming weeks.
We will continue to minimise the impact on road users by careful planning however some disruption cannot be avoided. We thank you for your patience and cooperation during the works.
All of the works should be complete by the end of October.
Executive Board Member with responsibility for environment Cllr Hazel Evans said: “Our road network is of vital importance to Carmarthenshire and we need to keep it fit for purpose. This investment will help ensure good quality road surfaces and maintain road safety. I would like to thank road users for their patience whilst these works are being carried out.”
The dedication and hard work of NHS staff was praised at Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Annual General Meeting held today [26 July].
The Annual Report, which details some of the achievements and challenges of 2017/18 and areas for improvement, was also launched at the meeting, together with a short trailer animation to help signpost people to the document on its website – see https://youtu.be/7czo5sx3Awg and http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/862/page/75118
Steve Moore, Chief Executive at Hywel Dda University Health Board: “We’ve seen many successes throughout the year across the organisation that we are immensely proud of and, though it was also a year of real challenge in some ways, we’ve embraced many opportunities to improve too.
“It’s right to pay tribute to our staff as, without their commitment and hard work, we couldn’t achieve everything we do. Across the organisation our staff have continued to work incredibly hard throughout the year to ensure our patients receive the care they need, often above and beyond their normal roles and particularly at times of significant pressure, for example, during in the winter months. Despite this, many of our staff and teams have still managed to achieve even more, with their work recognised in a variety of national awards. We are incredibly humbled and proud to be part of such a committed and talented team.”
Key topics discussed at the AGM included the Health Board’s overall performance throughout the year, its financial position, ongoing challenges, as well as the many new developments, innovations and award-winning successes throughout the year.
Some of the key highlights of 2017/18 included:
Over £1m spent supporting a wide range of charitable and health related activities;
£16.9m invested in improving hospital and community services;
Recruitment plans, particularly medical and nursing, led to a reduction in pay for agency and temporary staff of £9m compared with 2016/17;
161 new health volunteers were recruited;
The number of bronze and silver Investors in Carers awards increased across GP surgeries, pharmacies and other health settings.
The new bilingual IAWN website for people with mild/moderate mental health problems was launched;
The Research & Development Team saw its highest activity level, with more people in respiratory trials than any other health board in Wales and active teams in diabetes and breast cancer;
Successful staff flu vaccination programme, with a 13.6% increase on last year and the best improvement rate in Wales;
Board members won the Leadership award at the Welsh Government’s ‘More Than Just Words’ showcase event for leading by example in using and promoting the Welsh language in the workplace.
During the year, despite huge focus and effort, the Health Board continued to face significant financial challenges, mainly because of the rising demand for healthcare services and the increasing costs to provide those services, so the coming year will see a focused effort to address these and get back to a stronger financial footing.
As an improving organisation, the Health Board is constantly making efforts to better its performance across all areas of healthcare, seeing an improved or sustained performance last year in waiting times for elective treatment and emergency, ambulance delays, therapies and diagnostics. It is, however, acknowledged that there is much more to do and significant work is continuing to address those areas where improvement is needed, such as, improving access to GPs and the GP out of hours service; reducing waiting times for treatment, including ambulance handover and A&E; and increasing number of children vaccinated at one and five years of age, to name a few.
Looking ahead into 2018/19, the Health Board will be focusing on balancing its finances, strengthening its workforce and improving local health and care services for the local population.
Bernardine Rees, OBE, Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board added: “I’m extremely proud of all of our staff, who in a very challenging year – and with a well- documented position around the fragility of some of our services – have achieved a great deal. This is testament to the incredible passion, commitment and dedication of our staff, volunteers, partners and all our stakeholders, who work so hard for the benefit of our patients and our population as a whole.
“By continuing to live and breathe our organisational values, which are pivotal to our daily business, we are working together to be the best we can be, striving to develop and deliver excellent services and putting people at the heart of everything we do.
“We look forward to embracing the next year together and all it has to offer for our future – we have achieved much together and together we really can make a difference.”
The report is part of a suite of documents that includes the Annual Accounts and the Annual Quality Statement for the year 2017/18, together with the Hywel Dda Health Charities Report, all of which are available on the Health Board’s website: www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk.
Children in Carmarthenshire can start their summer holidays with a splash at some of the county’s parks.
The paddling pools are now open at Parc Howard and Crown Park in Llanelli.
The pool at People’s Park, also in Llanelli, is due to open next week following refurbishment works.
All three pools are run by Llanelli Town Council and managed by Carmarthenshire County Council.
The pools are open daily from 9am to 6pm seven days a week until the end of the school summer holidays.
As well as the paddling pools, splash pads run by Llanelli town council at Havelock Park and Penyfan Park in Llanelli are already in operation, as is the popular splash pad at Ammanford Park, which is run by Ammanford Town Council.
The splash pads work on an automatic timer system from 10am to 7pm seven days a week.
A Llanelli man is carving out a career for himself, teaching English in China
Gareth Lewis, 24, is a graduate of Swansea University and has been working in Nanjing in China since last year.
“It’s been a wonderful experience and I would recommend it to anyone looking to try the experience of teaching abroad – and the amazing experience of working in China.
“It’s a fabulous place and it’s a great life experience and education to be working and living in a place like Nanjing,” said Gareth.
Gareth is working in China through the Kids R Kids Learning Academies.
He’s been taking a little bit of Wales to China, with Welsh flags and T-shirts and using his talent for singing.
He said: “I teach English to children aged four to five years of age, but I always make sure they know that I am from Wales.”
Gareth was educated at Lakefield and Coedcae schools and Coleg Sir Gar in Llanelli before studying physical geography at Swansea University.
He explained how his China adventure started –
“After graduating from university, I felt I didn’t know what career I was going to pursue, but teaching was a consideration. A year later, I found this teaching job at Kids R Kids in China, which interested me because it was teaching and it was in a different country with a completely different culture.
“I got the job and moved to Nanjing. I have been there for nearly two years and it has transformed into something special. I have had a fantastic time working at the school and have made many friends outside of school, as well as playing music in a band.
“Living in the area has also allowed me to travel to many amazing places around China – and countries close by, including South Korea, Phillipines and Vietnam.
“I have learned so much about the Chinese culture, as well as learning a little Chinese in the process.
“To anyone who is graduating, or has already graduated, I strongly recommend coming to China for at least a year or two; it will be one of the best decisions you will ever make.
“Nanjing is one of the biggest cities in the province. It has the very best technology, great public transport and it’s cheap – about £6 a month will get you anywhere in the city.
“It’s a city of eight million people and with so much history, as it is the former capital of China.
“As far as the teaching goes, the rewards are immense. You get such a buzz from seeing the children pick up English so quickly. The class sizes are quite small, so you really can make a huge difference to young lives.”
Gareth added: “Working for the Kids R Kids team is a great experience. Once you’ve got all your paperwork sorted, they make the experience and the relocation to China so easy.
“They are a great company to work for and I will definitely be staying out in China for a year or two yet, before, perhaps, returning to teach in South Wales.”
Gareth added: “The social side is great here in Nanjing and I am enjoying developing my musical skills. I play in a band called The Epiphonics . . . with Allan from Denmark, Dave from England and Sherry from China, so we are a pretty international line-up!
“We are enjoying playing in the bars and the clubs in Nanjing and building up a nice little following.”
Other information:
Annabelle Zhu, whose company is representing Kids R Kids China in UK and Ireland, said: “This opportunity is lifechanging and the personal and economic benefits for the staff are endless.
“There are exciting jobs awaiting graduates in any subject, as well as qualified teachers and those looking for management roles.”
You can find out more about the Kids R Kids team on the websites below.
