NEW data uncovered by my office has revealed that a staggeringly high number of eye appointments are still being cancelled in Wales – despite recent warnings by the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The figures are exceptionally poor here in the Cardiff & Vale health board area.

Health boards have predicted a final figure of around 75,000 scrapped or delayed appointments for 2014/15. Cardiff & Vale’s figures are the worst, having risen by 30 per cent last year and on course to rise by another 15 per cent this year.

For Penarth residents this news will be a real concern. The RNIB recently claimed that clinics were struggling to cope with the rise in underlying causes of sight loss – things like diabetes and obesity – and it is well known that delays in treatment can seriously hamper efforts at recovery, sometimes leading to serious complications such as blindness. It is vital that the Health Minister takes proactive steps to work with health boards and charities like RNIB Cymru to address this issue.

Vale residents will also be concerned by the crazy decision to look at changing the way coroners work in South Wales. At present, inquests are held by separate coroners in the Vale of Glamorgan, Cardiff, Bridgend, Valleys and Powys region. However, under new plans those local authorities would merge the service and appoint a senior coroner for the entire region.

The Vale council cabinet has already given the plans the go-ahead with other councils to consider them in the coming weeks. I worry that a larger area would it make it extremely difficult for coroners to work with local doctors they know and trust.

Coroners provide a vital service to bereaved relatives, ultimately making warnings or recommendations about the hospitals they monitor. Expanding that area to take in six local authority regions will be hugely problematic and will undermine the principal of local knowledge. From a Vale perspective, families will want to have confidence that these changes will not undermine the coroner’s ability to do their job in a timely and sensitive fashion.

Frankly, on the surface these plans are nothing short of crazy and I would urge the Vale council to reconsider their support for them.

One of the most rewarding aspects of my role as an assembly member is the opportunity to meet with constituents, including a range of organisations such as local charities and businesses.

Last week, for example, I was delighted to meet up with Caudwell Children from the Vale, including some from the Penarth and Sully areas. The young ambassadors I met were extremely articulate in sharing their concerns with the AMs who popped down to the event in the Senedd. It was great to find out more about the work that Caudwell does with disabled children throughout Wales and I very much hope that they enjoyed their day! Who knows, in a few years time some of them could be the Assembly Members for the future?