Thursday, December 1, 2022
NEWS Malachi a man on a mission Page 15
SANDWELL & HALESOWEN EDITION
MOTORING Rallying for unlikely SUV Page 29
SPORT Carlos relishes training time Back page
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TRUSTS MISS KEY TARGETS
Key targets are being missed by hospital trusts in the Black Country, latest figures show. The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, which runs New Cross Hospital, has been ranked 105th out of 120 in England for its overall performance against key duties of care to its patients. Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust ranks 86th, The Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust 42nd and Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust 41st. The target for patients to start any type of treatment for a new primary cancer within one month (31 days) from the decision to treat is 96 per cent. But latest figures show
Report by Lisa O’Brien
the Wolverhampton trust achieved 70 per cent, Dudley 85 per cent and Sandwell 90 per cent. The Walsall trust met the target with 99 per cent. The operational standard for A&E waiting times is that 95 per cent of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. The latest figure for Walsall was 71 per cent, 73 per cent at Sandwell, 77 per cent at Dudley and 80 per cent at Wolverhampton. No Black Country trust met the 90 per cent target for patients waitimg six weeks or longer for a diagnostic test. The NHS constitution sets a standard that 92 per cent of
people should wait no longer than 18 weeks from their referral to their first treatment for elective surgery. At the Dudley trust it was 65 per cent, 60 per cent at Wolverhampton, 59 per cent at Walsall and 60 per cent at Sandwell. Diane Wake, elective care lead for the Black Country Integrated Care System, said: “We know patients are waiting longer than we would like, and NHS staff are working extremely hard to address the backlogs. “Despite exceptionally high demand for services, we are making significant progress, with almost 200,000 procedures being carried out every month across the Black Country.”
Fears over job losses at gaming firm Around 50 people at a gaming firm have been sacked just weeks before Christmas as the company moved to Birmingham, it is understood. Workers at InTouch Games, based at Fountain House on Great Cornbow in Halesowen, have allegedly been told the news.
It is claimed staff at the site had their access shut off and had been “unceremoniously” told they had no job, with reasons cited being around performance-related issues. The company was taken over by Skywind Holdings in June. Skywind is advertising customer service adviser jobs in Birmingham
for £21k rising to £22k. A spokesman for Skywind Group said: “Following the acquisition of InTouch Games earlier this year, we have completed a review of the business which has resulted in a number of changes being made to improve current working practices which includes changes in the customer service team.”
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Family and friends of a teenager killed in a road tragedy held a heartbreaking tribute to her. Dozens of red balloons were released before a Dudley Rangers United football match in Wednesbury as a tribute to 16-year-old Liberty Charris, from Gornal. It came a week after the Wolverhampton College student was killed when she was hit by a Nissan Skyline that ploughed off the road into people in Oldbury. Ben Corfield, aged 19, also from Dudley, was also killed in the trag-
edy on the A457 Oldbury Road on November 20. The tributes were organised by the club, which her brothers play for. Liberty’s mother Tracy said it was a wonderful tribute to her lovely daughter. She said: “She was always watching her brothers playing and she was a big part of this club, so it means so much and really is wonderful.” Liberty’s aunt Gemma Perry said: “She was always happy. I don’t think I ever saw her angry, just golden.” n Families – Page 7
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Balloons are released by family and friends of Liberty Charris
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