Leading sustainable transport charity, Sustrans Cymru launches second online travel challenge to get workplaces encouraging their employees to walk, cycle or use public transport for their daily commute.  The ‘Cymru Travel Challenge’ runs from 10th to 31st October with 77 workplaces and 877 individuals signed up so far to leave their cars at home and choose greener modes of transport.  Each year physical inactivity costs the NHS in Wales £51 million and this challenge is aimed to address this, demonstrating how…

An 80 year old man whose life was saved by a defibrillator and a bystander passing by during a serious cardiac arrest at Cardiff Central Station has thanked the charity Welsh Hearts on their third birthday with a donation to purchase another device to get more of the life-saving machines  into public places in Wales. Frank Brock, who lives in Rumney in Cardiff, was picking up a friend at the busy railway station in February 2016 when he suffered a…

On Friday 29th July 2016, Celgene, Stockley Park, UK Celgene announce that REVLIMID® (lenalidomide), in combination with low-dose dexamethasone, has been recommended by the All Wales Medicine Strategy Group (AWMSG) for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (NDMM), who are not eligible for transplant and are unsuitable for thalidomide-containing regimens. This recommendation enables NHS access to the treatment combination for eligible Welsh patients, joining patients in Scotland and Northern Ireland who currently have access to the combination in this…

There are never enough hours in the day or days in the week to get everything done. The bare essentials may make it through but looking after us often ends up at the bottom of the list. It’s crazy – because looking after ourselves saves time in the long term, as we are able to function more efficiently and less likely to succumb to illness when we are healthy. But when life is out of control, try to find just…

Public Health Wales is launching its fourth annual ‘Screening for Life’ campaign on 1 July to raise awareness of the free national screening programmes offered by the NHS. The month-long campaign is aimed at encouraging people from across Wales to take up free NHS screening. This year’s campaign will focus on raising awareness of all screening and look at breaking down barriers to screening which may affect a person’s decision to take part in screening or not. Throughout the month,…

Public Health Wales and our partners are investigating one further case of Hepatitis A linked with the current outbreak.  The total number of confirmed cases is 13, with 10 having an association with pupils in Glyn Gaer school, two being in the Caerphilly community and a further case associated with Ysgol Rhydywaun. Heather Lewis, Consultant in Health Protection for Public Health Wales, said: “This new case is a pupil at Ysgol Rhydywaun, where there was already a previously confirmed case….

Forecasted levels of EU migration will place the Welsh NHS under huge strain in the coming years, according to Vote Leave campaigner David TC Davies MP.   It would mean that the Welsh NHS would require an additional £246 million per year by 2030 to maintain current funding levels.   Vote Leave has published new research highlighting the pressure the NHS will come under once new countries join the EU.   Albania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey – with a…

 In response to today’s NHS statistics which show that cancer waiting times targets in Wales have once again been missed, Anneka Hughes, Cancer Research UK’s public affairs officer in Wales, said: “It’s deeply concerning that these critical targets have been missed yet again.” “For someone who suspects they may have cancer, waiting for news is an extremely anxious time. It’s crucial that once patients are diagnosed they get the treatments they need quickly to have the best chance of survival.”…

More than 400 delegates representing over 100 organisations came together to explore opportunities for closer collaboration at the 2015 Welsh Public Health Conference in Cardiff on 2 and 3 November. Delegates talked about how Wales can make the most of its tradition of collective action and fairness to mobilise organisations and communities to improve health and wellbeing, and tackle inequalities. The conference took place in the context of an opening address by the Minister for Health and Social Services Mark…