NEWS KEY ROLE PLAYED BY PHARMACISTS As a retired doctor, I have experience of the valuable but often unsung work done by our community pharmacists. Throughout Wales, pharmacies provide places where people can get advice on their health issues. Their value was obvious during the Covid pandemic. But this resource is one that is underused. Welsh Conservatives have now launched a campaign to publicise and enhance the role of community pharmacists at a time when our hospitals and surgeries are facing huge increases in those seeking treatment. Going to your pharmacy may be the most sensible first step for many. If it is not suitable, pharmacists will quickly re-direct patients to their GP or to the hospital. It is estimated that 11,000 consultations take place every day at pharmacies across Wales and that 86 per cent are dealt with there and then. This saves 35,000 surgery consultations a week and a further 2,000 hospital visits. I want Welsh Government to reduce the bureaucracy around access to medical records and to speed up the introduction of e-prescriptions. Let’s also ensure that there is more training available for pharmacy staff to give them the skills they need. DR ALTAF HUSSAIN Regional Senedd Member
DO YOU HAVE A VIEW OR RESPONSE TO ANY OF THE ISSUES RAISED IN THE NEWS SECTION? Email your response to us to include as a letter Email: info@seasidenews.co.uk SUPPORT FOR CARERS ACROSS BOROUGH I am pleased with the recent Welsh Government announcement to support unpaid carers across our community in recognition of the pivotal role they have played during the pandemic. The support includes a £500 payment for the 3030 unpaid carers
24 | seaside news
Email us your views info@seasidenews.co.uk across Bridgend and Porthcawl, as well as a £9 million fund to establish a holiday scheme for carers of all ages to access respite from their caring responsibilities. The Welsh Government are launching these initiatives after a survey found nearly half of unpaid carers had to use personal savings and give up work or study to care, while more than half had to give up on hobbies or personal interests because of their caring role. The payment and holiday fund will benefit the most vulnerable unpaid carers across Bridgend and Porthcawl, who frequently care for the longest and are often on the lowest incomes. Carers have dedicated their lives to helping the most vulnerable over the last year and the recognition of their contribution to Wales’ health and social care system is a positive step by the Welsh Government. If you need any further support or advice on accessing the payment or holiday scheme, please email me at sarah.murphy@senedd.wales SARAH MURPHY MS Member of the Senedd for Bridgend
SEWAGE POLLUTION THREATENS OUR BEACHES I am calling on the Welsh Labour Government to bring in measures to tackle untreated sewage discharges similar to plans already announced by the UK Conservative Government for England. Constituents are rightly concerned about the pollution this causes to our rivers and also to the quality of our seawater. Poor water quality in Porthcawl would have a massive adverse effect on tourism and the jobs that depend on it. Wales has a largely Victorian sewage system, which overflows during periods of heavy rainfall. Over the past year, raw sewage was dumped into Welsh waterways more than 100,000 times and that’s totally unacceptable. Nobody wants to see pollution on this scale and I am calling on the Welsh Government to use some of the extra funding of £2.5 billion it has received on top of its block grant of £15 billion. In England, water companies will face strict limits on when they are able to use storm overflows and a plan will be implemented which will reduce discharges by 80 per cent in time. I am backing my Welsh Conservative colleagues in the Senedd who are calling for similar action now. We need deeds and not words. JAMIE WALLIS MP for Bridgend
