Author: Rhys Gregory

Work has started on transforming two key sites in the Swansea Bay area into field hospitals in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Up to temporary 1,340 beds could be available if needed in the weeks ahead. They will be situated at the Llandarcy Academy of Sport and Bay Studios in Fabian Way, and will be in addition to extra beds created in Morriston, Singleton and Neath Port Talbot hospitals, as outpatients and other clinical and public areas are redesigned. The public, health and private sector, along with further education, are working closely together in an unprecedented response aimed at safeguarding…

Aberystwyth University departments are helping healthcare professionals to stay safe as the number of patients infected with Coronavirus continues to rise. Staff at the University are producing and donating personal protective equipment (PPE) to staff at local healthcare facilities. A team from the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences has taken all their supplies of PPE to the local district general hospital in Aberystwyth, Ysbyty Bronglais, while colleagues in the Faculty of Business and Physical Sciences are producing protective headgear and donating it to front-line health workers. Intelligent Robotics expert Dr Patricia Shaw and Outreach Officer Natalie Roberts are using…

A member of the public built a makeshift catapult to fire carrots up to a wild goat trapped on a North Wales mountain ledge – before RSPCA Cymru rescued the stranded animal.  The animal welfare charity has praised the “immense kindness” of the individual – who reported the trapped goat to the RSPCA, with a dramatic rescue safely completed on Wednesday 18 March. RSPCA officers were able to undertake the rescue after North Wales Police identified the grid reference location of the goat. The goat was trapped approximately 100-foot from the ground on a ledge on the side of a…

Applications for freshers who want to live in Wales’ most famous student halls open this week, as the first rooms at the site are completed. Aberystwyth University is investing £16.5m to transform Pantycelyn and provide facilities that compete with the best. The new-look halls will offer modern en-suite accommodation for up to 200 students who will benefit from state of the art research and learning experiences in Aberystwyth University. They will also enjoy top-notch resources which will include quiet study rooms with computer facilities, two meeting rooms, and four common rooms – the Small Lounge, the Large Lounge, the Senior…

More than £18m will support the creative industries, culture and sport sectors, which are feeling the immediate impact of COVID-19. The package of measures, which was announced by Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Lord Elis-Thomas today, will help support the sector, safeguarding businesses and jobs. The funding is being made available by the Welsh Government, the Arts Council for Wales and Sport Wales. It includes: £7m Arts Resilience Fund led by the Arts Council of Wales. Working with the Arts Council, this fund will support artists and arts organisations most in need and least likely to benefit from…

All GP practices in Wales can now access a new system, which allows people to have online appointments with their doctor and other healthcare professionals. Original plans to launch the NHS Wales Video Consulting Service later this year were accelerated by the Welsh Government and software providers TEC Cymru, in response to the coronavirus outbreak. As well as helping people keep to the stay-at-home rules, the new system will allow doctors and nurses who are self-isolating, but willing and able to work, to continue to serve their communities. Remote consultations will help practices keep frontline staff and their patients safe by…

In order to respond to the current COVID-19 emergency, and prepare for the challenges ahead, Cardiff Council services have rapidly adopted new ways of working to ensure the continued provision of critical services, to protect our most vulnerable citizens and to limit the spread of the virus. Here’s a rundown of 10 major service changes that everyone needs to know about: 1. Changes to weekly rubbish collection Cardiff moved to a new, weekly, kerbside collection which will see all household waste (except garden waste) picked up at the same time. Collection days for your area will remain the same, but…

Four Cardiff cemeteries are to be temporarily closed to the public, unless they are attending a funeral, following a weekend which saw large numbers of people visiting the sites and failing to adhere to government instructions on social distancing. Cabinet Member with responsibility for Bereavement Services, Cllr Michael Michael said: “Closing these sites isn’t something we’re doing lightly, but during the current emergency, public safety, and limiting the spread of COVID-19 has to come first. “Unfortunately, the unusually high number of visitors this weekend, coupled with the lack of social distancing taking place, means we have to do what many…

2020 has been a crazy year so far, it feels like 2019 is much further back in our history than only 4 months. But nevertheless, it’s the start of a new decade, as we enter the ‘20s now is the perfect time to redecorate your home, so today we’ll be looking at 5 design trends that will be popping up this year. Colour Pop Cabinets If you’ve never heard of ‘colour pop’ cabinets, you’re not alone, they’re a new trend emerging in kitchen design according to Modani Kitchens. The basic premise of these colour pop cabinets is to essentially avoid…

Stressed over the huge amount of your private data that is on the internet and defenseless against identity theft and other misuses? You’re not the only one. A survey by the Pew Research Center conducted in 2017 found that 49 percent of Americans said that their own data is less secure than it was five years earlier.  Online protection is a significant issue and there are steps you can take to ensure your monetary and individual data while you visit your preferred social networking sites, news, and entertainment websites. 1. Check social privacy settings  In this day and age, everyone has…