28/01/2016 BBC Wales Today

Welcome to Wales Today. Tonight's headlines.

Most of the key waiting times in Wales are longer on average

than in England for NHS treatments and diagnoses.

The findings of exclusive analysis by BBC Wales.

The system is working flat out at the

moment and the staff in hospitals are working flat out to try and

But still the waiting lists appear to grow.

The Welsh Government admits more could be done to tackle the delays.

Also tonight: Here they're performing well but some schools

claim the way they're being measured isn't fair to everyone.

The latest plan to help small companies keep in the game.

The new Swansea City head coach faces the cameras for the first time

as the club looks to sign a new striker.

And trouble is brewing over the Atlantic.

The next winter Storm Gertrude is on the way.

Average waiting times in the Welsh NHS are longer than in England for

Exclusive analysis by BBC Wales has found the biggest difference

The average wait here was 197 days compared to 75 in England.

The Welsh Government denies the NHS is failing -but says more could be

Our health correspondent Owain Clarke has this special report.

If you are ill or in pain you obviously need to be treated

quickly but Carol from Mold had to wait more

According to NHS targets, nobody should wait that long.

Unfortunately, the stress, the length of time I had to wait has

put pressure on my other hip so I am now, having recovered from the first

operation, I'm now on the urgent list.

Is Carol's case exceptional or symptomatic of deeper problems

If you think answering that question would be easy think again.

That is because health statistics in Wales

and England are often collected and measured in different ways.

We've been digging deep and found figures we can compare.

They suggest the median waiting times in Wales was longer

than in England by some margin for seven out of 11 key

For hip replacements, the average weight was 122 days

longer here than on the other side of the border.

There was a difference of 70 days for diagnosing hernias.

For this, hips and treating cataracts

the gap with England had grown in the previous three years.

However we measure it, I think it is unacceptable

for a patient with a painful hip to be waiting more

than six months for a hip operation.

The system is working flat out at the moment

and the staff in the hospitals are working flat

out to try and keep up with the demand.

But still the waiting lists appear to grow

But there is more encouraging news on more urgent care.

In three years, waiting times for types of heart surgery showed

a big improvement with a gap with England reducing by 65 days.

Patients in Wales were still typically waiting almost eight weeks

longer and the performance between the two nations is similar

on cancer diagnosis and better on waiting

Why have waiting times lengthened for

According to the doctor in charge of a Wales wide

plan to reduce waiting times, it's a case put simply of supply not

If you are a service which receives 100 referrals per month,

if you don't have the activity to cope with those 100 referrals

per month, each month you are going to add patients

The waiting list will grow and grow and grow.

Just to increase your activity to burn the backlog,

as it is commonly described, alone it

Here in Swansea the local health board

believes they have found one solution.

11,000 patients a year are seen by doctors and physiotherapists

Gail Crockett came here within weeks.

She may have been waiting many months had she been sent to see

80% of those that get seen here end up needing no

It is much more personal and much more easier.

To come to this level rather than go to

more serious operations and things like that.

The majority of people do not need a surgical intervention.

I think the population is actually starting to get used to that idea

as well and I think looking after yourself and maintaining

yourself with a good lifestyle is important.

What accounts for the differences between

The waiting list gap has been there for a long time

The population of Wales generally speaking is older,

sicker and poorer than in England placing more burden on services.

Independent experts tell us that wouldn't account

Wales does seem to have some difficulties with waiting times.

It is worth pointing out that Wales has done some really good

things in the area for example of patient safety and quality of care.

If you ask the public, what matters to you more,

the quality and safety of treatment you get or the time

I think most people would say the quality and the safety

As long as people don't suffer harm while they

The message from him is don't judge the Welsh NHS on speed alone.

As we race towards the Welsh election how quickly patients gets

treated will soon be at the heart of the debate.

Our political editor Nick Servini is at the Senedd.

What impact will these figures have on the political debate here?

We have never set out up to data directly compatible health data

across a broad range of categories like this before. I expected to form

the backdrop to much of the debate in the debates in the weeks and

months to come ahead. Labour with deal with, they will be asked angry

questions from people asking why should people in Wales wait four

months longer funny hip operation? Why should they wait twice as long

for heart bypass surgery? They will have to do with these questions or

they risk losing a load of key marginal seats across Wales. Vaughan

Gething, the deputy health minister, talked about having to rent the NHS

in a different way. Many people would agree with him but that takes

time. In an election year time is exactly what a government does not

have. Give us a flavour of what the opposition parties have had to say

on this. They have waded in, they have called them disgusting, they

have called for an apology to stop they would consider these figures

are gift. No matter how difficult they are for the government, serious

questions for the opposition parties as well because when they come out

with their health policies and four Plaid Cymru, for example, it is

major reorganisation. The Tories want directed elected chairs of

health boards. The key question they have to answer is how will those

policies wipe off for months from a wait for a hip replacement

operation? Airbus has agreed a deal

with Iranian officials to provide Iran Air

with 118 airliners. The 25 billion dollar deal was

announced in Paris earlier today. The wings for the planes will be

built at Airbus's plant A head teacher who improved pupils'

tests results at a Pembrokeshire school has been banned from teaching

by an education tribunal. 47-seven-year old Shan Harries

changed the results at Eglwyswrw County Primary School

after the School Inspectorate Estyn An investigation is underway

following allegations pornography was shown at the funeral of a father

and his baby in Cardiff. Staff at Thornhill crematorium have

apologised to the family of Simon Lewis and his son,

also called Simon. They died following a car

crash on New Year's Eve. More schools have been rated

as "performing well" in the second There were 333 primary and secondary

schools in the top green category Red schools, those needing

the most improvement, Unions have welcomed the figures

but some governors say the system Here at this school in Cardiff Bay,

they have been marked as green. The new system takes into account more

than just academic levels and this has helped them to keep their place

as one of the best performing schools in Wales. We recognise for

the hard work we do with the children. A lot of our children come

in with low levels of English. For them to achieve by the end of

foundation phase is often a challenge. There are four

categories, green schools are deemed to be already doing well. One in

five high schools and green this year. Yellow and effective and

taking action to improve where necessary. And the schools are in

need of improvement. Read schools are those in need of the greatest

improvements. One in nine of our high schools are red. Scores like

this on in Flintshire which has come at Amber sabre system unfairly

penalises small schools stop a primary school with less than 100

pupils,... Applying benchmarks to that in those circumstances, a

school might be kept to the amber category by virtue of a performance

largely of one pupil. The last government says because schools

cannot just rely on the performance of their top students, it is a

system that delivers for all learners. It is an absolute system

which means schools are not in a situation where if one school goes

up another one has to fall because that is the way league tables work.

Every school in Wales is capable of hitting a green category if they

follow that improvement journey. They any tears courses we are

positive that once against using it as a method of judging individual

schools stop -- the nu tea. If it is seen as where schools can build

capacity and work with each other it can be used as a useful measure.

Opposition parties have raised concerns over the number of schools

in the red category. The government says it isn't about labelling

schools. But directing the right support to ensuring improvements

across the system. Here in Cardiff Bay, being green for two is at

things parents and approaching the schools seek places for their

children. Elsewhere in Wales, schools will be to what support the

Welsh Government plans to put in place for those schools deemed to

need it. Our political correspondent

Arwyn Jones is here. This system is in its second year

now, why does the Welsh Government It comes down to accountability. You

rewind to 12 years ago when school league tables were pitched in Wales.

The Welsh Government is now pretty much acknowledge is that is the

point at which they took that is the point at which they took their eye

off the ball. That led to a stagnation when you look at GCSE

results and the problems that came from that. Fast forward to 2010,

they reintroduced an element of school banding and that was tweaked

last year and we get the categorisations. When you have that

accountability, it focuses the minds of schools back on standards and

according to the Welsh Government some of the acceleration we've seen

in the improvements in GCSE results, that is down to schemes that this

one. With this system it is more difficult to compare this one --

year with last year. There is an additional emphasis now on getting

the best out of the poorest pupils. A school can't rely on their best

and brightest to get the top. If they want to be in green category,

free school meals pupils have two reach a certain level and that

changes every year. We can't compare this year to last year. As one

teaching union said to me today, if you can't compare year-on-year, that

makes it difficult to see if the school is improving getting worse.

And you can find out what category your local school

falls into on the BBC Wales News website.

Objections by all four party leaders in the Assembly to an EU referendum

in June are a "bit of silliness" according to the Welsh Secretary.

In a speech in Cardiff today, Stephen Crabb made the case

for Britain to stay in a reformed EU if the Prime Minister's negotiations

But the Assembly leaders, including Welsh Tory

leader Andrew RT Davies, have warned holding the in-out vote

the month after May's Assembly election, could confuse voters.

I happen to believe there is no great problem in combining elections

But we listen to the arguments and we made a commitment not to have

Now they have moved the goalposts and said we don't want

the referendum happening with in a number of months or weeks

of the Assembly and Scottish Parliament elections.

I think there is a bit of silliness going on here.

People in Wales are well able to handle the debate about different

issues in roughly the same time period.

The Conservatives have promised to cut business rates for small

companies but big companies like supermarkets would pay more

They say it's part of a plan to put the needs of small businesses

at the heart of a Tory Welsh Government.

Here's our political correspondent Daniel Davies.

Making a cut in the tax paid by small businesses. Once Conservative

leader Andrew RT Davies says if he was First Minister he'd have

officials dedicated to helping small businesses. They'd also Payless

integrates while bigger businesses like supermarkets would pay more.

The supermarkets play an important role in Wales, employing many

people. But they have huge advantages in some of the incentives

offered to them with their political that particular business model. The

small businesses need a helping hand. Rates are split in England and

Scotland to help small businesses but not in Wales although there is a

scheme that means the smallest companies pay nothing at all. Four

years ago a review found this huge Tesco in Cardiff would be paying 22

and a half thousand pounds more in business rates if it was in England.

The Tories say they would change the system so the same rules apply on

both sides of the border. The wealth retail Consortium which represents

the industry told us they would be alarmed if the proposed new rates

for bigger businesses opened the door for even bigger taxes. One

business guru who look that this idea for the Welsh Government

recommended against it. Economic league in terms of income, it is

backward. Why would we want to discourage big companies from coming

to Wales? We thought we would say, we won't charge bigger rate, we want

bigger companies to relocate to Wales. We will treat you fairly.

These people make arcade games near Caerphilly. They need more space but

upgrading to bigger premises would mean a business rate hike. It is a

barrier. What is fundamental in me not investing in buying the unit

next door and increasing my work space is we are struggling. Is.

Politicians know at election time it is far better to be seen to be

standing up for the little guy. The new head coach

settling-in at Swansea. Francesco Guidolin tells us he's

close to signing a new striker Plans for the first Welsh medium

secondary school in Newport may be in doubt after experts warned

the site could experience Natural Resources Wales,

the body that advises on the environment here,

has opposed the development. Newport Council says it's committed

to Welsh medium education. The plans for Newport's first Welsh

medium secondary school. John Frost School,

named after the city's It'll share a site with

the existing English medium, Because of tidal events

on the nearby Severn Estuary Natural Resources Wales,

the body that advises says the school should be

able to withstand a one in a hundred year

"climate change event". It says it could actually flood

during a one in 20 year event. Parents at this Welsh

medium primary school in the city say they're

shocked at the news. My daughter has just started in the

nursery so with that a few years to go yet. Equally, I'm a little bit

shocked and surprised to hear their may not be the provision they

promised us. What is your point to send the children to a well when

they have got nowhere else to go? Natural Resources Wales

says any development and that flooding would be

"dangerous to children, The council's own planning

officers have reccomended it But where then does

it go in the city? Newport Council has

to provide Welsh medium The money is there, part of it from

the Welsh Government. The council says there

is no other viable site. The council says it's

committed to delivering if councillors feel the risks

are properly addressed. They'll decide on the

development early next month. Tomos is here now

with tonight's sport. Swansea City are close to bringing

in their first player of the transfer window

with Chievo striker, Alberto Paloschi, due

to have a medical at the club ahead Head coach Francesco Guidolin also

told me potential transfer targets could be put-off moving to Swansea

because of the club's It was handshakes all around

at his first press conference. Francesco Guidolin is Swansea's

third head coach this season, tasked with keeping

the club in the Premier League. To help him achieve that,

he needs new players. The deal is nearly done

for the striker Alberto Paloschi. He will cost Swansea

at around ?8 million. He is a player the head coach

knows well from their time together at

Italian side, Parma. I think he can help

the team to have results. Two consecutive wins against Watford

and Everton in recent weeks has eased the pressure

but attracting new players to the club at the wrong end of

the table hasn't been easy. Have the players been put off coming

to Swansea because of the current league position, the fact you re

at the wrong end of the One player courted by

the club wanted a clause in his contract allowing him

to leave for nothing should Swansea be relegated at the end

of the season. That is something the supporters

trust, who have a 21% stake in the club, are not

willing to agree to. One of the issues that the club has

at the moment is the sort of demands that perspective

players are asking for. We've known from the past,

even after the success in the 80s, the club plummeted because of funds

which we didn't have what actually Spending funds wisely is one

of the key things as far as the current club and supporters

trust is concerned. Francesco Guidolin said he is more

concerned about familiarising himself with the current squad

than he is with making But he is keen on bringing

in one or two new players before the

deadline on Monday. Wales have been given an additional

allocation of more than 4,000 The former Wales and Cardiff

striker Robert Earnshaw has After 236 goals for club

and country, including this hat-trick against Scotland,

Earnshaw will now stay at Vancouver Whitecaps

as their strikers coach. A second rugby player

from Welsh Division One side Maesteg Harlequins has been

suspended in the space of two days. Ryan Watkins' four year ban

for steroid use comes after hooker Shaun Cleary was banned for two

years for testing positive Derek is here now and Storm

Gertrude is on the way. Wales will escape the worst

but there's more rain and stronger Trouble is brewing over

the Atlantic. This mass of cloud

is Storm Gertrude. The seventh named storm

of the season so far. Gertrude is going to bring us more

rain and severe gales. The northern half of the UK will be

bear the brunt of the stormy weather, especially the far north

of Scotland with amber warnings. Nonetheless Met Office yellow

warnings are force for both wind and rain with a risk

of surface water flooding. So tonight, windy with outbreaks

of rain and drizzle. Severe gales in the north later

in the night. Gusts over 80mph on exposed coasts

and in Snowdonia. Here's the picture for eight

in the morning. Severe gales in exposed parts

of the north and northwest. Some heavy rain and poor travelling

conditions for the It might be worth allowing extra

time for your journey to work. Now later in the morning

and into the afternoon, Turning drier and brighter

with a few showers. The gales easing but

remaining very breezy. Tomorrow evening more rain

will spread into south Wales. Showers will follow

and turning colder. The showers wintry on higher ground

with a little snow on some Saturday a cold and breezy day

with a mixture of sunny spells Again the showers wintry

on higher ground. Temperatures in single figures

with a significant wind-chill. So a cold snap on Saturday

but on Sunday it's all change again. Turning milder with another dose

of rain and stronger winds. More strong winds

and gales on Monday. The wind easing on Tuesday

and turning colder. In the meantime watch out

for storm Gertrude tomorrow. Wales will escape the worst

but still very windy. Severe gales in the North

with some travel disruption. tonight 's main news again.

Exclusive analysis by BBC Wales has found average waiting times in the

Welsh NHS and longer than in England fold most key treatment and

diagnosis. The Welsh Government admits more could be done.

We'll have a quick update for you at eight.

More after the BBC News at Ten. But that is Wales Today.

From all of us on the programme, have a good evening.