Doctors criticise sunbed ban wait

Vale of Glamorgan council has five sunbeds at four leisure centres

Doctors' leaders have accused a council of putting profit before public safety by delaying a decision about banning sunbeds from leisure centres.

The British Medical Association (BMA) in Wales said the Vale of Glamorgan council was "dragging its feet... in the pursuit of profit".

In May, a council committee recommended the local authority removed the five sunbeds it has at four leisure centres.

The council said it would make a decision next month.

The BMA has also called on Wrexham and Flintshire councils to remove sunbeds from their leisure centres. Wrexham has been asked to comment.

Head of leisure services at Flintshire council, Mike Hornby, said sunbeds at three of its leisure centres would be reviewed in the near future.

'Tanning salons'

The BMA's secretary in Wales Dr Richard Lewis said: "I am grateful that the dangers of using sunbeds have been recognised by the (Vale of Glamorgan council's) scrutiny committee, but I can only put the delay in taking action down to the finance the sunbeds generate for the council.

"But, we believe that local authorities have a duty of care to the people they represent and a duty to promote public health."

In June, assembly members called for evidence on whether more controls were needed on tanning salons in Wales.

An inquiry is examining whether the industry needs tighter regulation following a number of high profile cases involving children being burned.

Kelly Thompson, 10, from Port Talbot, had to be treated at a burns unit in Swansea in April after spending 16 minutes on an unsupervised, coin-operated sunbed.

In another incident, a 14-year-old Kirsty McRae, from Barry, suffered burns to 70% of her body in February.

She spent 20 minutes under the lamps of a coin-operated sunbed while the salon was unstaffed.

In May, a Vale of Glamorgan council committee recommended the local authority removed the five sunbeds it has at four leisure centres.

Councillors said the sunbeds were well-managed but they backed a report noting "well-documented concerns and dangers" about sunbed use.

But the BMA said the council had met three times since then and had failed to consider the issue of take action.

'Reckless failure'

It accused the council of a "reckless failure to uphold their duty of care to the local population", and said the sunbeds were making a profit of around £15,000 a year for the local authority.

Dr Lewis added: "The Vale is not the only council to have sunbeds in its leisure centres - Wrexham and Flintshire also do and we have called on them to take action too.

"Local authorities should be leading on health protection, it's absurd that sunbeds are even there."

Vale of Glamorgan council's head of economic development and leisure Chris Fray said: "The Vale of Glamorgan council's cabinet will revisit the report at its meeting on 2 September where a decision will be made on whether to remove all sunbeds from its leisure centres.

"The cabinet needed to ensure that it had all the necessary details to make an informed decision."

The council has two sunbeds at Penarth Leisure Centre and one each at the Barry, Llantwit Major and Cowbridge centres.

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