:00:00. > :00:09.you Huw in the studio. Congratulations to the
:00:10. > :00:14.Operations postponed on a weekly basis because of a severe
:00:15. > :00:16.shortage of intensive care beds, says the Royal College of Surgeons.
:00:17. > :00:19.And fly half Dan Biggar is named BBC Wales Sports Personality
:00:20. > :00:38.Major operations are being postponed on a weekly basis because
:00:39. > :00:40.of a severe shortage of intensive care beds.
:00:41. > :00:42.That's according to the Royal College of Surgeons.
:00:43. > :00:46.Speaking exclusively to BBC Wales, the college says procedures
:00:47. > :00:49.including cancer and vascular surgery are being
:00:50. > :00:52.called off and too many patients here are waiting too long.
:00:53. > :00:58.Our Health Correspondent Owain Clarke reports.
:00:59. > :01:00.Big operations cause enough worry without the extra distress
:01:01. > :01:09.This is a major cancer operation but according to the surgeon
:01:10. > :01:12.on the left operations like this end up cancelled because there are
:01:13. > :01:18.There are plenty of incidents where we put together
:01:19. > :01:22.a team for a large cancer operation and we arrive on the day to find
:01:23. > :01:25.actually the critical care capacity is full
:01:26. > :01:28.and that patient has to be cancelled at the last minute.
:01:29. > :01:32.One of the main problems according to the Royal College of Surgeons is
:01:33. > :01:34.Wales has the lowest portion of critical care beds in Europe.
:01:35. > :01:37.3.2 beds per 100,000 population, compared to four in England
:01:38. > :01:49.The more you postpone operations, the longer patients have to wait.
:01:50. > :01:51.The college claims the total number of patients waiting
:01:52. > :01:54.more than 26 weeks for planned surgery has increased by over 70%
:01:55. > :01:58.in just under four years and there has been a dramatic tenfold rise
:01:59. > :02:05.The Royal College of Surgeons also says there is much
:02:06. > :02:07.to celebrate about what is happening in Wales, including where surgery
:02:08. > :02:15.One example of that is happening right here
:02:16. > :02:22.After an investment of three quarters of a million
:02:23. > :02:24.pounds from the Welsh government, this is the only place
:02:25. > :02:26.in the UK regularly offering the NHS so-called
:02:27. > :02:34.super micro surgery for lymphedema patients.
:02:35. > :02:36.This painful condition is where the lymph nodes swell after surgery
:02:37. > :02:38.and affects nearly 8,000 people in Wales.
:02:39. > :02:42.The new scanning equipment we now have allows us to first inject dye
:02:43. > :02:47.into the patient's limb and scan them and we can see the lymphatics.
:02:48. > :02:49.Also praise for the quality of surgical training in Wales
:02:50. > :02:52.and that waiting times for heart surgery has gone down recently.
:02:53. > :02:54.But that was in part a response to a crisis a
:02:55. > :02:58.couple of years back and some Welsh patients had to be sent to England.
:02:59. > :03:01.We need an adequate number of ward beds and critical care beds
:03:02. > :03:03.and above all we need theatre staff to be recruited,
:03:04. > :03:12.The Welsh government says the NHS is its top priority
:03:13. > :03:14.and waiting times have improved dramatically in 16 years.
:03:15. > :03:16.The Royal College of Surgeons argue some specialist
:03:17. > :03:18.services, like emergency surgery, are still spread too thinly
:03:19. > :03:33.Tributes have been paid to a father and son who died following a road
:03:34. > :03:37.Stuart Bates and his seven year old son Fraser were hit while crossing
:03:38. > :03:49.Stuart's wife and Fraser's mother, Anna-Louise Bates, has described
:03:50. > :03:55.Wonderful" and their son as "our bear".
:03:56. > :03:57.A 22-year-old driver has been arrested and released
:03:58. > :04:01.And an 18-year-old from Wrexham who died after being hit by a car
:04:02. > :04:03.on the A5 in Denbighshire has also been named by police.
:04:04. > :04:05.Katie Griffith from Ruabon died on Friday following the crash
:04:06. > :04:08.involving a black Seat Leon on the outskirts of Llangollen.
:04:09. > :04:15.An Assembly committee has claimed that parents who have been fined
:04:16. > :04:17.for taking children on holiday during term-time may have been
:04:18. > :04:20.William Powell, who's chair of the Petitions
:04:21. > :04:23.committee, raised the issue in a letter to the Education Minister.
:04:24. > :04:25.A BBC Wales investigation has shown that the number of fines varies
:04:26. > :04:39.28 Welsh communities have seen the closure of their last bank
:04:40. > :04:41.in the past two years, a BBC Wales investigation has found.
:04:42. > :04:44.Banks say the increase in online banking means there's been
:04:45. > :04:45.a significant fall in customer numbers.
:04:46. > :04:48.But charities are warning the loss of banking services has
:04:49. > :05:03.a detrimental effect on businesses and vulnerable people.
:05:04. > :05:06.The Wales and Ospreys fly-half, Dan Biggar, has been voted this
:05:07. > :05:08.year's BBC Cymru Wales Sports Personality of the Year.
:05:09. > :05:10.Cyclist Geraint Thomas was 2nd and Boxer Lee Selby third.
:05:11. > :05:13.There were also awards for the Wales football team and their manager,
:05:14. > :05:17.Tomos Dafydd was at tonight's ceremony.
:05:18. > :05:24.The BBC Wales Sports Personality of the Year for 2015 is...
:05:25. > :05:31.You voted in your thousands and Dan Biggar was your choice
:05:32. > :05:33.to pick up tonight's top award.
:05:34. > :05:37.He helped Wales reached the last eight of the World Cup and was
:05:38. > :05:48.He said it is a trophy will treasure.
:05:49. > :05:50.-- He said it is a trophy he will treasure.
:05:51. > :05:55.As it was getting read out, I thought I am nowhere near this.
:05:56. > :06:00.I personally think Gareth Bale maybe should have won it because
:06:01. > :06:03.of the year he has had and what he has done for Welsh football.
:06:04. > :06:06.Look, it's massively humbling and I'm so proud to be able to
:06:07. > :06:09.Having reached their first major finals in decades,
:06:10. > :06:11.the men's national football team was named Team of the Year.
:06:12. > :06:14.The man at the helm, Chris Coleman, Elite Coach of the Year.
:06:15. > :06:16.There was also an opportunity to reflect
:06:17. > :06:19.Sir Gareth Edwards received the Lifetime Achievement Award.
:06:20. > :06:22.He played 53 times in succession for Wales, scoring a then record 20
:06:23. > :06:25.tries, winning seven 5 Nations titles, including three grand slams.
:06:26. > :06:28.Just made a great night and I've enjoyed every moment of it.
:06:29. > :06:30.I'm cherishing the contribution of so many super athletes,
:06:31. > :06:33.so many all in tears, so many wonderful coaches and now to
:06:34. > :06:36.play a small part in it, and making the presentation, the night is
:06:37. > :06:53.Potential future stars were recognised as well,
:06:54. > :06:58.the Carwyn Jones award for the most promising young athlete
:06:59. > :07:01.were awarded to tennis player Matt Storey and sprinter, Hannah Brier.
:07:02. > :07:12.This year the 17-year-old equalled the Welsh 100 metre record.
:07:13. > :07:23.It is quite hard with my A-levels and try to qualify for the world
:07:24. > :07:27.It's not the usual thing a teenager has to do.
:07:28. > :07:30.Yes, I think I coped quite well and I'm really happy with myself
:07:31. > :07:34.There was also a special award tonight for Nigel Owens, the man who
:07:35. > :07:38.In football, Swansea City will travel to Oxford
:07:39. > :07:42.The draw took place in Cardiff earlier and the Bluebirds will face
:07:43. > :07:46.While Newport County, in the 3rd round draw for the first time
:07:47. > :07:53.in 30 years, will play Championship side Blackburn at home.
:07:54. > :08:01.Now the weather. A respite today but otherwise blustery with further
:08:02. > :08:05.rain. Looking at the map, wind picking up and rain moving east.
:08:06. > :08:10.Heavy downpours and 10-20 millimetres of rain. Becoming more
:08:11. > :08:17.dry in the West with isolated showers. Blustery but staying mild.
:08:18. > :08:20.Lowes 8-11 Celsius. Tomorrow is windy with some showers. Some with a
:08:21. > :08:25.risk of hail and thunder and sunny spells in between. Across the UK the
:08:26. > :08:29.cold front bringing rain, clearing in the East, fresh air behind and a
:08:30. > :08:34.mix of sunshine and blustery showers. The heaviest in the north
:08:35. > :08:38.and west, coldest across Northern Ireland and North West Scotland. Not
:08:39. > :08:42.as cold in the south-east of England. Some showers and brighter
:08:43. > :08:47.spells later for Wales and remaining windy with coastal gales likely.
:08:48. > :08:52.Highs of 10 Celsius in Anglesey and 12 in Cardiff. The link pressure in
:08:53. > :08:56.the brisk wind. A dry end for tomorrow. High pressure building
:08:57. > :08:59.from the south-west, bringing more subtle conditions later tomorrow and
:09:00. > :09:06.into Wednesday. A clear night for most. Some isolated showers. Brisk
:09:07. > :09:11.wind. Feeling colder than recent nights at 3-8 Celsius. On
:09:12. > :09:16.Wednesday, a cold and windy start. Blustery and variable cloud. Some
:09:17. > :09:20.sunny spells and rain coming from the Northwest again later. That is
:09:21. > :09:25.courtesy of a cold front pushing south-east across the UK late
:09:26. > :09:30.Wednesday into Thursday. A wet start on Thursday. Improving as the cold
:09:31. > :09:34.front players to the south-east but also becoming colder behind it.
:09:35. > :09:41.Looking like a more settled and to the week, Chile with showers on
:09:42. > :09:46.Friday. Maybe a bit dry heading into next weekend. There is still one
:09:47. > :09:48.flood warning in place for the lower Dee Valley and you can get all the
:09:49. > :09:55.information on the forecast on the website. Thank you very much. We are
:09:56. > :10:01.back with the latest news and sport in breakfast at six o'clock tomorrow
:10:02. > :10:02.morning. That is Wales Today. Thanks for watching. From all