The Welsh Ambulance Services Trust admitted it erred in denying non-emergency transport to an 83-year-old recovering cancer patient for a 70-mile trip from Borth to Haverfordwest. Officials conceded the request should have been approved and confirmed that call-handling training has been updated to prevent similar refusals. Meanwhile, local charity Dolen Teifi reported handling 145 calls across two months from residents whose official transport was canceled the day before appointments. This growing transit deficit underscores the significant hurdles rural patients encounter as hospital services migrate further south.
Key points
The Welsh Ambulance Services Trust acknowledged procedural shortcomings and updated call-…: The Welsh Ambulance Services Trust acknowledged procedural shortcomings and updated call-taking training following the improper denial of patient travel services.
Hywel Dda University Health Board maintains narrow transport eligibility rules that routi…: Hywel Dda University Health Board maintains narrow transport eligibility rules that routinely expect patients to secure their own transit despite long rural distances.
The migration of healthcare services away from regional sites like Bronglais Hospital con…: The migration of healthcare services away from regional sites like Bronglais Hospital continues to place an unsustainable strain on rural transit infrastructure.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
- Published
An 83-year-old recovering cancer patient who has suffered two heart attacks was forced to drive himself on a four-hour round trip for medical tests.
Charles Swift was referred to Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, for tests on his heart in August - he lives in Borth, Ceredigion - which is 70 miles away.
He made inquiries about getting non-emergency transport but was refused by a call handler from the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust (WAST) when he told them he owned a car.
"I can't understand why pensioners have to run about in their own car," he said.
WAST said it was not always able to meet the increasing demand for transport, and changes were underway to improve the service.
Swift, who has been treated for three types of cancer and has had two heart attacks, said when he rang hospital taxis, he was asked if he could walk, climb stairs and owned a car.
When he replied yes to all three, he said he was told: "You'll have to use that then.
The British performer passed away in Los Angeles following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, spokesperson Kelly Bush Novak announced. A classically trained veteran of the Royal Shakespeare Company who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2010, he seamlessly bridged elite theater and modern global pop culture. His legacy extends beyond his storied acting career to prominent humanitarian work advocating against domestic abuse and supporting international refugees.
A personal account explores how a mother's early-onset dementia diagnosis forces her adult daughters to re-evaluate decades of emotional distance and maternal neglect. The revelation creates an ongoing psychological dilemma about whether to view past volatile behavior as deliberate cruelty or as the early manifestations of disease. Ultimately, the family struggles to balance unresolved childhood pain against the neurological realities of an advancing illness.
Victoria's Court of Appeal will determine whether a woman convicted of killing three lunch guests with poisoned food secures a retrial or receives a harsher sentence. A three-judge panel heard separate appeals in August following claims that jury accommodations compromised the trial's fairness. The forthcoming decision could result in a full retrial or guarantee the offender never leaves prison.