"The health board's lack of urgency is shameful"
Health visitors at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board have been striking since February and just announced it will be extended for an extra month.
Hello and welcome to The Valleys Lead.
Health visitors in the south Wales valleys are still on strike, and have been since February, over a dispute with the health board about banding and pay. The Valleys Lead spoke with Unite the Union, representing over 100 health visitors striking, and a mother who has been impacted by the strike. What needs to happen for the strike to end? We ask that question below.
Before you read the story, we just wanted to say thanks for reading, and thanks to everyone who has been in touch thus far with story tips. Rest assured, if you come to me with a story, discretion can be guaranteed. We’d love you to get in touch at valleys@thelead.uk or via Bluesky or Instagram with any stories you might have for us.
If you haven’t subscribed yet, please do so below - there are free and paid options. We’d appreciate it if you financially supported local journalism by paying just a small yearly amount when you subscribe.
Just enter your email to support exclusive local journalism in the south Wales valleys.
If you want to support The Valleys Lead, it’s free to subscribe. Paid subscribers get a bit more for only £4.99 a month, or £49 a year.
It’s also free to share. And it would be a hugely appreciated if you did share The Valleys Lead with all your friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Thank you!
The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys.)
A defence contractor has announced it will move its manufacturing more than 200 miles from Cambridge to Merthyr Tydfil by 31 March 2027. Marshall Land Systems was sold by the Marshall Group, founded in Cambridge in 1909, to Canadian investment firm, Flowing River Capital Partners, last November.
Moving manufacturing would reduce costs and provide longer term sustainability, according to Flowing River Capital Partners. The Welsh Government said it welcomed the move, saying it showed Wales was “an attractive location for investment”. If you’ve got thoughts on this move, please do share them with us at valleys@thelead.uk or using the comment button at the end of the edition.
Caerphilly Plaid Cymru group leader Charlotte Bishop is demanding the council rethink controversial changes to home to school transport because of the danger to children having to walk along “unsafe” roads. Many routes have been ruled safe by the council leaving 340 learners no longer qualifying free school transport from September but Aber Valley councillor Charlotte Bishop has lobbied the local authority over the changes between Senghenydd in her ward and St Cenydd Community School. “I have serious concerns regarding the suitability and safety of this route for children as young as 11 years old, particularly during winter conditions and periods of darkness and poor weather,” she said. Changes announced by Caerphilly County Borough Council tighten the criteria for free home-to-school transport by assessing whether a walking route is available.
Under Welsh Government guidance, routes must be assessed not only on distance but on whether they are “reasonably safe” for children to walk. Factors such as traffic speed, lighting, pavement width and isolation should all be considered.
An HMO (houses in multiple occupation) has been approved by Caerphilly councillors. Housing organisation D2 Propco had applied to convert its property at 26 Maindee Road into an HMO for three people. Ynysddu ward councillor Janine Reed told Caerphilly County Borough Council’s planning committee about a string of alleged incidents she claimed “brings into question D2 Propco’s ability to manage” the property. There have been concerns about noise, antisocial behaviour and parking pressures, and that two other HMOs are nearby. Planning agent James Driscoll defended D2 Propco’s record, telling the committee the firm houses more than 600 people in around 150 temporary accommodation units in Wales. He said the Cwmfelinfach property had been “identified for use as temporary accommodation for single adults within Caerphilly County Borough”. The Valleys Lead is exploring a story on HMOs so if you have opinions and experiences involving HMOs, please email valleys@thelead.uk.
“The health board’s lack of urgency is shameful.”
Carly Kennard’s daughter was born on February 19 and was discharged home the following day. Due to the health visitor strikes in the south Wales valleys, which have been happening since the end of February, Carly’s daughter didn’t see a health visitor to be weighed. When Carly was concerned about her daughter’s weight, she asked a friend, a health visitor not striking, to weigh her.
“She noticed severe delays in my daughter’s eyesight, that she couldn’t smile, and that she was apparently floppier than other babies her age,” Carly said to The Valleys Lead. “These were all things I had put down to her slow weight gain.”
Soon after, Carly’s daughter was diagnosed with Congenital Cytomegalovirus (CMV), a common virus passed from a pregnant person to their baby. The virus can lead to long-term health problems such as hearing loss, developmental and motor delay, vision loss, and seizures.
“It’s something that should have been diagnosed a lot earlier than it was,” Carly said. “I feel if the health visitors hadn’t been on strike, they would have noticed her delays sooner and we could have gotten the help we needed. I am absolutely devastated to say the least. My mental health has been dreadful, and I feel resentment that no one was there to weigh my child and potentially notice these symptoms earlier.”
Health visitors at the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (CTMUHB) who are part of Unite the Union have been striking since February, and due to ongoing disputes over banding and pay (which The Valleys Lead covered in detail), have extended their strike from May 13 to July 17.
The industrial action will see essential, mandatory appointments go unfulfilled due to the “stubbornness of their employer who is refusing to pay them the correct salary based on their qualifications,” which is costing workers between £8000 to £9000 per year.
Over 100 health visitors in the south Wales valleys participated in industrial action from the start of the strike, and no more than a handful have dropped out since.
“Since the strike started on February 23, we have had 5 meetings with CTMUHB, all of which have been meaningless with no offer or attempt at resolving the dispute, Paul Seppman of Unite the Union told The Valleys Lead. “The meetings have been set up as a sham in an attempt to demonstrate negotiations are on-going.”
Seppman said that the strike is continuing due to the “health board’s inaction to resolve the dispute.”
