Author: Rhys Gregory

More than £1.2m is set to be invested in six new bacterial analyser machines that can identify bacteria from infections in minutes instead of hours. Ensuring speedy identification of the bacteria causing the infection means patients will get the right antibiotic therapy quicker, improving their treatment and recovery. Timely and effective treatment can also prevent infections developing into sepsis. This also contributes into the wider public health strategy to reduce antimicrobial resistance by effectively killing the bacteria and preventing the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria. The Welsh Government funding will replace four analyser machines – which are currently based…

All primary and secondary school pupils in Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil will soon be able to engage with an exciting range of local science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) employers as part of a new effort to inspire and encourage more young people into high-skilled STEM careers, the Welsh Government has announced. The Welsh Valleys Engineering Project (WVEP) is an initiative developed jointly by the Panasonic Trust and the Royal Academy of Engineering that started in 2018, funded by the Trust and delivered by the Academy. Its aim is to create centres of excellence in STEM teaching and improve…

A new fund is being launched by the Welsh Government to back local businesses offering the goods and services that support the wellbeing of everybody in Wales, Economy Minister Vaughan Gething has announced. The Backing Local Firms Fund will support businesses in parts of our local everyday economy, also known as the Foundational Economy, to deliver more of the products and services required by the public sector, helping to create more and better jobs closer to home. The Foundational Economy is made up of locally owned businesses, rooted in local communities and providing fair work, covering sectors such as care…

Members of the Senedd have approved the extension of the NHS COVID pass to cinemas, theatres and concert halls in Wales. Following the vote, the Minister for Health and Social Services, Eluned Morgan said: “I am pleased the extension has been agreed today following the vote. Covid has not gone away and cases remain high and we need to continue take steps to Keep Wales Safe.  The NHS COVID Pass is one measure among many to help to keep businesses open while also helping to control the spread of the virus. “The decision to introduce them has not been taken…

British Wheelchair Basketball has today announced the line-up of the four teams competing in its inaugural Women’s Premier League. The British Wheelchair Basketball Women’s Premier League will be the first of its kind for women’s wheelchair basketball, and the very first professional para-sport league in the UK. The season will begin in January 2022, with Cardiff Met Archers, East London Phoenix, Loughborough Lightning and Worcester Wolves competing for the inaugural title. The franchises are linked to four universities which will be centres of excellence for wheelchair basketball in the UK for both men and women. These High-Performance Partnerships will develop and…

Bike share operator nextbike is temporarily removing its OVO Bikes schemes from the streets of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan after months of vandalism, thefts and threats against its team in Cardiff. And nextbike – who had to hire a private investigation firm to help the situation – have warned that the schemes could be permanently closed down if the situation does not improve when the fleets are reintroduced early next year. Nextbike launched its Cardiff fleet in 2018 to provide sustainable and affordable transport across the city and since then, combined with the Vale of Glamorgan fleet which…

COLEG CAMBRIA is to host a series of WorldSkills finals in the coming weeks. The college will welcome participants from across the UK to its sites in Wrexham and Deeside from Monday November 15 to Friday November 19. Cambria is to hold nine finals in all. They will take place at the following venues: Yale, Wrexham: Nail Technician, Commercial Make-Up, Creative Media Make-Up, Beauty Therapy Practitioner, Beauty Therapist. Bersham Road, Wrexham: Manufacturing Team Challenge, Construction Metalwork. Deeside: Sheet Metalwork, Welding. Coleg Cambria has one of the largest WorldSkills UK cohorts in Wales, with 25 representatives selected for the prestigious event.…

Further details of a proposal for flood defence work in Rhyl have been announced. Denbighshire County Council is informing residents of the latest plans for the defences at Central Rhyl, between Splash Point and Drift Park. The proposed scheme aims to improve coastal flood defences to protect almost 600 homes and businesses and protect the tourist economy from flooding events and coastal erosion well into the future. If no work is carried out, the current defences could fail within the next 10-15 years. The Council is working with Balfour Beatty and Mott MacDonald on progression of the scheme which is…

Pets and their owners in Rhyl will soon benefit from good and affordable veterinary care when Community Interest Company (CIC) Animal Trust open their second veterinary hospital in North Wales. A loan of £700,000 from the Development Bank of Wales has enabled Animal Trust to purchase the former Aldi site on Wellington Road in Rhyl, with the fit-out of their latest 6,000 square foot veterinary hospital now underway. Expected to open in early 2022, it will be Animal Trust’s 10th veterinary hospital – with existing locations in Wrexham and throughout Yorkshire and North England. Established by veterinary surgeon and Chief…

Josh Williams has been appointed as an assistant site manager at Bellway after successfully completing the company’s graduate scheme. Josh took up his full-time post at the housebuilder’s Wales division in September and is now working on site at Bellway’s Heron’s Mead development in Llanwern, near Newport before going to their new site in Penllergaer, Parc Mawr. “This appointment is the culmination of nearly two years of hard work and learning on the job,” said Josh, who gained a degree in construction management and quantity surveying at Swansea University in 2019. “The housebuilding industry is my chosen career and I…