Author: Rhys Gregory

Julie Parker 65, from Pontyclun, had to have open-heart surgery in June, while the country was going through the first coronavirus lockdown. Julie, a former chartered loss adjuster, needed surgery to replace an aortic valve. She had experienced heart palpitations, breathlessness and coughing for many months before her diagnosis of aortic stenosis (AS). This is a common condition that causes a narrowing of the heart valve, restricting blood flow out of the heart. Across Wales, more than 118,000 people over the age of 65 are thought to suffer with moderate to severe heart valve disease. Julie’s open-heart surgery took place…

A Powys gardener told she would never garden again after an accident a day before her husband’s funeral has defied the doctors – and seen the garden featured in a new charity film. Val Brown was airlifted to hospital after she badly dislocated her right shoulder and damaged her right arm in a fall just a day before her beloved husband Dave’s funeral in June 2017. Medics initially told Val, who spent more than a decade developing Japanese stroll garden Tranquility Haven with Dave, that she would never garden again due to the level of nerve damage. But with the…

Fast-growing Welsh medtech firm Bond Digital Health has received a further £1.2 million in equity funding to cap a hugely successful year. The Cardiff-based company received £1 million from Wealth Club, the high-net-worth investment service, and £200,000 from the Development Bank of Wales. The money will fund further business growth, product development and expansion into new global markets. Earlier this year Bond received £700,000 in equity funding from the same two organisations and was later awarded more than £200,000 in government grants. Bond used the funding to expand its team, creating five new high-value tech jobs to help develop its…

The International Centre for Policing and Security (ICPS), based at the University of South Wales (USW) has been awarded three Jean Monnet (Erasmus Plus) grants from the European Commission to boost research into counter-terrorism and hybrid security. They are receiving €300,000 to establish the EU counter terrorism network EUCTER involving international academic collaborations to advance blended learning formats with a strong policy relevance in the area of the EU counter-terrorism. A further €100,000 is for a partnership with the University of the West of England (UWE) Bristol to progress research into European co-operation on security, crime and counter terrorism under…

The first 166 beds are available to accept patients at the UHW Lakeside Wing, a temporary surge facility based at the University Hospital of Wales site, as of this week. On Friday 4 December, 166 beds that make up the ‘Northern Wing’ of the UHW Lakeside Wing will be available to accept patients who need rehabilitation and are recovering from a long period of acute illness. The UHW Lakeside Wing will be adopting a multi-disciplinary model of care, ensuring staff such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dieticians, pharmacists, healthcare support workers and registered nurses will be collaboratively working to provide patient…

A trio of Welsh celebrities has signed up to perform at a Christmas concert with a difference that is being hosted this year by Cerebral Palsy Cymru – Wales’ only specialist therapy centre for children and families living with cerebral palsy. The charity will be hosting their ‘Very Merry Christmas Concert’ on Friday 11th December and has announced today that the virtual event will include music from West End singer Sophie Evans as well as a host of festive readings from BBC Wales newsreader Lucy Owen, Welsh music legend Max Boyce and  Hollywood star Matthew Rhys. The fundraising concert will…

South Wales Police Detectives have charged a 37-year-old man with Causing Grievous Bodily Harm (Sec18 GBH) after a serious assault in the Mayhill area of Swansea on December 1. Jonathan Campbell, of Mayhill, has been remanded into custody and will appear at Swansea Magistrates court today. The 48-year-old woman who was the victim of the assault remains in a critical condition in hospital. We would like to thank the members of the public who have assisted us with our investigation. We are also reminding people of the importance of not posting anything on social media which could prejudice future court…

Denbighshire Leisure Ltd is excited to reveal that a star-studded cast will be filming an exclusive online pantomime at Rhyl Pavilion that will be broadcast UK-wide this festive season. The stars will all be heading to the Rhyl Pavilion over a few weeks to ensure social distancing and will film at an undisclosed time and date to create this exciting digital production. 21 Celebrities from across the industry will be heading to Rhyl, including XFactor star Sam Bailey, ITV The Chase’s Mark Labbett  And Anne Hegerty, Britain’s Got Talent Winners dog act Ashley and Sulley, I’m a Celeb winner and…

CARDIFF is set to welcome a new, contemporary serviced workspace, as flexible workplace operator Clockwise expands its portfolio with the opening of its newest space in the Welsh capital. Clockwise’s arrival into Cardiff coincides with the biggest shift in working patterns since the industrial revolution. Comprising shared workspace, private offices and meeting rooms, Clockwise spans over 5,000sqft of Cardiff’s landmark building, Brunel House, located in the city centre. Flexible working has become more than just a buzz phrase this year, with businesses understanding that many employees neither want to work from home permanently, nor retreat back to the pre-Covid model…

A Merthyr Tydfil social club has been forced to close for two weeks after officers from the Cwm Taf Joint Enforcement Team ‘could not believe the lack of control’ of customers who had their arms around each other and borrowed other people’s facemasks to enter the premises. Merthyr Labour Club & Institute Court House has been shut down under the Health Protection (Coronavirus Restrictions) (Wales) Regulations 2020 for failing to take ‘reasonable measures to minimise risk of exposure to coronavirus or the spread of coronavirus by those who have been at the premises’. The Joint Enforcement Team comprises officers from…