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Pembrokeshire Herald
a day ago
- Health
- Pembrokeshire Herald
Concern grows over future of Withybush Hospital as services face review
Prince Philip Hospital whistleblower warns of regional impact as Glangwili faces ICU overflow A SPECIALIST nurse has spoken out as critical care services at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli are quietly scaled back ahead of a public consultation — with direct implications for Pembrokeshire patients who rely on Glangwili Hospital for intensive care. Hywel Dda University Health Board is preparing to launch a consultation on its Clinical Services Plan, which includes a proposal to formally downgrade the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Prince Philip Hospital and replace it with an Enhanced Care Unit (ECU). However, the transition has already begun. The Herald understands that ICU staff are being reassigned, and patients requiring high-level intensive care are being routinely transferred to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen — nearly 24 miles away — despite no final decision having been made. One senior nurse at the hospital told The Herald: 'Staff are being moved off the unit. There are people who need ICU beds but have to wait, as there are none now here. Everyone who needs one has to be transferred to Glangwili.' The ICU at Glangwili is under significant pressure (Image: File) She continued: 'They could have bleeds, they are not stable. Not only that, but if they need to be transferred between hospitals, that is done by a specialist NHS service based in Cardiff – the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service (ACCTS), part of EMRTS Cymru. We call them ACCTS. When we sign the paperwork, we can see the Health Board is paying around £6,000 per patient for each transfer. The transport is carried out in a specialist ambulance, including an anaesthetist, doctor, and critical care team, to ensure patient stability during transfer. It's not cheap.' The nurse also claimed that there are enough skilled staff locally to continue providing intensive care, but the team is being broken up. 'We are a specialised team, and we are being dispersed. The people of Llanelli are being put at risk. For what? To save money.' She said patients from Llanelli were now overwhelming beds in Carmarthen, leaving Glangwili Hospital with little capacity for new cases. 'Everyone now down at Glangwili are people with Llanelli area postcodes. They should be being treated here near their family, loved ones. And now down in Carmarthen they are chocker – no room to accept new patients, which is going to impact on patients further west into Pembrokeshire.' This concern is echoed in Pembrokeshire, where Withybush General Hospital still technically retains seven ICU beds. However, ongoing staff shortages and the discovery of unsafe RAAC concrete have meant that many patients requiring critical care from Pembrokeshire are already being transferred to Glangwili. Now, with Llanelli patients added to the demand, access to critical care is under further pressure across the region. Costly specialist ambulances from Cardiff are used to transport ICU patients between Llanelli and Carmarthen hospitals (Image: NHS) Hywel Dda University Health Board is expected to launch a 12-week public consultation on its Clinical Services Plan this week, with options that could lead to permanent reconfiguration of hospital services across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion. However, documents seen by The Herald confirm that changes such as the ICU downgrade may proceed before consultation results are finalised. Appendix 7.55 of the Clinical Services Plan states: 'We recognise that the need to respond to service fragility may mean some service change and investment decisions are required ahead of any final reconfiguration, and these will be developed with service, operational and executive leadership.' Another section of the Plan notes: 'Due to the nature of service provision across Mid and West Wales, it is recognised that a wide range of services have some fragilities. This was a key driver behind the development of the Health Board's strategy which seeks to reduce, if not eliminate, the risks to sustainable service provision.' Hywel Dda University Health Board's Medical Director: Mark Henwood (Image: HDUHB) Commenting directly, Hywel Dda University Health Board's Medical Director, Mark Henwood, said: 'There has been a temporary change in place for critical care services at Prince Philip Hospital since July 2022. This was approved by the Board because of an inability to safely staff two critical care units with Consultant staff in Carmarthenshire providing care to the most unwell patients. This has meant that the sickest patients have been stabilised and transferred mostly to the Critical Care Unit at Glangwili Hospital. 'The temporary change was needed to improve our ability to safely deliver our critical care services in Carmarthenshire with the staffing available. 'We launched our Clinical Services Plan consultation at our Board Meeting today and Critical Care is one of the services which we will be looking at. 'In the consultation, options A and B propose having fewer intensive care units, and Option C proposes maintaining the current temporary arrangement at Prince Philip Hospital, where the sickest patients are transferred to Glangwili intensive care unit. 'In all options, bringing specialist critical care consultants together onto fewer sites would make the service more sustainable, improve safety, and help meet quality standards for our patients.' However, critics argue that the Health Board's response amounts to a technocratic justification that fails to meaningfully address community impact, consultation integrity, or patient safety. Lee Waters MS: 'You can't run a consultation while services are being stripped away' Lee Waters MS: The people of Llanelli deserve proper, local access to intensive care Commenting, Llanelli's Member of the Senedd, Lee Waters, told The Herald: 'It looks very much like decisions about critical care at Prince Philip Hospital are being made before the public's had a real say—just like we saw with the overnight closure of the Minor Injuries Unit. That's not how you build trust. The people of Llanelli deserve proper, local access to intensive care, and I'm not convinced the Health Board has a credible plan to deliver that. I've always tried to be reasonable about change, but in this case the case simply hasn't been made. You can't run a meaningful consultation while services are being quietly stripped away.' Dame Nia Griffith MP: 'This erosion of services by the backdoor has got to stop' Commenting, Llanelli's MP, Dame Nia Griffith, said: 'I am extremely concerned to hear reports of intensive care services at Prince Philip Hospital being scaled back, because people in Llanelli should be able to access this care here, and not see loved ones taken all the way to Glangwili for services that have hitherto been provided in Llanelli. 'Moreover, the fact that this is happening without there having been any consultation, or even any mention of this, completely undermines trust in the Health Board. I will be seeking an urgent meeting with Hywel Dda health board bosses to seek clarification, and make it absolutely clear to them that they must recognise the need for these services in Llanelli and design their staffing model accordingly, with full teams of appropriately qualified staff based here. 'Everyone knows that they are already struggling for space in Glangwili so it makes no sense to be sending more Llanelli patients up there, and on top of that, there is the cost of transporting patients, the discomfort for the patients and the anxiety and inconvenience for the family. This erosion of services by the backdoor has got to stop.' Welsh Conservatives: 'Declare a health emergency' Commenting, a Welsh Conservative spokesperson said: 'The downgrading of ICU services at Prince Philip Hospital before public consultation is unacceptable and undermines trust in the health system. 'The Welsh NHS is in crisis under Labour, with over 10,000 patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E and two-year waits still unacceptably high, the Welsh Labour Government continues to fail our communities. 'The Welsh Conservatives would declare a health emergency, directing the resources and the entire apparatus of government at the health service, ensuring timely access to care and restoring faith in our Welsh NHS.' Sam Kurtz, Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire added: 'If any decisions are taken before the consultation has concluded, then both the Health Board and the Welsh Labour Government must be prepared to justify them to a deeply concerned public. 'Recruitment has long been a challenge, one that has only worsened under the shadow cast by ongoing uncertainty over the future of healthcare in West Wales. 'That uncertainty stems from the Welsh Labour Government's continued drive to centralise services, often to the detriment of rural communities.' Kurtz added: 'Access to critical healthcare should never be a postcode lottery.' Campaigners: 'Not acceptable – and a shock' Shocked: Hospital campaigner Cllr Deryk Cundy was not consulted, he said (Image: BBC) Chair of the SOSPPAN campaign group, Councillor Deryk Cundy, told The Herald that they had raised concerns with Hywel Dda over 'rumours from a separate source' suggesting changes to intensive care were already under way — before any formal decision by the Health Board. 'We have not been directly contacted about these changes,' he said. 'SOSPPAN has been working closely with Hywel Dda trying to find a way forward — recommending a merger of the Minor Injuries Unit and Same Day Emergency Care, operating 16 hours per day, with increased mental health cover available in Llanelli 24/7.' He said that when combined with the existing 24-hour Acute Medical Assessment Unit, this could improve service delivery in Llanelli and reduce pressure on Glangwili Hospital. However, he described the ICU downgrade as 'a shock' and 'not acceptable'. 'For too long, Hywel Dda management have said departments are unsafe and instead of making them safe, they shut them down — only to reopen them 20 miles away. We will be asking for an early meeting with the Health Board, and if these proposals are confirmed, we will express our determination to prevent any further reductions in service at Prince Philip Hospital.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
Edinburgh fire station with 'structural issues' could be demolished and re-built
Plans have been submitted to demolish and replace an Edinburgh fire station due to structural issues related to RAAC. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has submitted plans to the council which would see its Liberton station demolished and replaced with a two-storey building with additional modern operational requirements. It would also include office and sleeping accommodation to support the local area as well as a multi-purpose room for community use. READ MORE: Huge Edinburgh crowds gather as famous actor spotted filming in city centre READ MORE: Robbie Williams shares backstage clip hours before Edinburgh Murrayfield gig The facility, built in 1976, is said to be beyond its intended design lifespan and structural issues linked to RAAC have been identified as well as asbestos in certain locations. The SFRS, in a design statement, said the station is "critical" to the delivery of operational response across Edinburgh and the wider area. The modern replacement would include individual rooms in place of dorms, decontamination spaces and additional equipment stores for specialist requirements. Plans also reveal how the building will consist of two elements - the appliance bay which houses the fire vehicles and the adjacent accommodation which is the administrative, preparation and deployment area for the station. The design statement adds how the current setup provides inefficient access between equipment storage and staff preparation areas for attending emergencies. Join Edinburgh Live's Whatsapp Community here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages. They also say the current station provides challenges for contamination control, saying: "Cleaning and contamination control areas are accessed independent from the rest of building. Control should be more effectively managed within the same building. "Areas such as the dormitories and the gym in current design do not reflect present day norms for work conditions and safety. Individual bedrooms need to be provided and will result in an increase from 40 sqm to85 sqm. "A gym with adequate activity spaces for safe use of the equipment will increase in size to 60 sqm from 24 sqm. Likewise appropriate shower and changing facilities as well as purpose-built storage for equipment and administrative facilities will substantially increase the required building gross internal area from existing." The planning application can be viewed in full on the council's planning portal here.
Time of India
a day ago
- General
- Time of India
Mass cleaning drive to begin at govt offices on June 5
Coimbatore: A mass cleaning drive will begin on June 5 to clear old materials dumped on all govt offices premises in Coimbatore district. This is in connection with the statewide initiative 'Thooimai Mission' for sustainable waste management in Tamil Nadu and the observance of the World Environment Day . The statewide mission was launched in April. On Friday, the first meeting of the mission was conducted in Coimbatore district. District-level and block-level committees have been formed. NGOs and volunteers who are already working on a similar mission have been included as committee members at various levels in panchayats and villages. Ten members of the Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore (RAAC) are part of the district-level committee. RAAC secretary R Raveendran said the focus is to have source segregation at the grassroots level, go for recycling and eliminate landfills. In the present scenario, even in a small village, panchayats are gradually creating landfills due to a lack of process, which is the result of mixed waste. There are local recycling industries in the market that are performing well. "We are already working in Perur and Keeranatham villages with progressive results in waste management. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Bolsas nos olhos? (Tente isso hoje à noite) Revista Saúde & Beleza Saiba Mais Undo Even if we separate plastic waste, the multi-layered packaging (MLP), i.e., packaging of chips, biscuits and other eateries, must go for different processing, which will later be sent to the cement industry. However, if we combine all kinds of plastics together, they will certainly end up being dumped in vacant spaces or water bodies. Also, scrutinising the best vendor for recycling should be taken care of," said Raveendran. He specified that the old materials like tables, chairs and other items that still hold capital value would be sold, and the rest would be sent for recycling. "Unlike any other activities like desilting, municipal solid waste management is a daily process without compromise. The major problem is the payment for sanitary work, which stands low. Probably if their payments are raised from Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000, there would certainly be a viable change in waste management," he added.
Pembrokeshire Herald
2 days ago
- Health
- Pembrokeshire Herald
‘The Most Valuable Portrait' unveiled to honour Britain's unpaid carers
Prince Philip Hospital whistleblower warns of regional impact as Glangwili faces ICU overflow A SPECIALIST nurse has spoken out as critical care services at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli are quietly scaled back ahead of a public consultation — with direct implications for Pembrokeshire patients who rely on Glangwili Hospital for intensive care. Hywel Dda University Health Board is preparing to launch a consultation on its Clinical Services Plan, which includes a proposal to formally downgrade the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Prince Philip Hospital and replace it with an Enhanced Care Unit (ECU). However, the transition has already begun. The Herald understands that ICU staff are being reassigned, and patients requiring high-level intensive care are being routinely transferred to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen — nearly 24 miles away — despite no final decision having been made. One senior nurse at the hospital told The Herald: 'Staff are being moved off the unit. There are people who need ICU beds but have to wait, as there are none now here. Everyone who needs one has to be transferred to Glangwili.' The ICU at Glangwili is under significant pressure (Image: File) She continued: 'They could have bleeds, they are not stable. Not only that, but if they need to be transferred between hospitals, that is done by a specialist NHS service based in Cardiff – the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service (ACCTS), part of EMRTS Cymru. We call them ACCTS. When we sign the paperwork, we can see the Health Board is paying around £6,000 per patient for each transfer. The transport is carried out in a specialist ambulance, including an anaesthetist, doctor, and critical care team, to ensure patient stability during transfer. It's not cheap.' The nurse also claimed that there are enough skilled staff locally to continue providing intensive care, but the team is being broken up. 'We are a specialised team, and we are being dispersed. The people of Llanelli are being put at risk. For what? To save money.' She said patients from Llanelli were now overwhelming beds in Carmarthen, leaving Glangwili Hospital with little capacity for new cases. 'Everyone now down at Glangwili are people with Llanelli area postcodes. They should be being treated here near their family, loved ones. And now down in Carmarthen they are chocker – no room to accept new patients, which is going to impact on patients further west into Pembrokeshire.' This concern is echoed in Pembrokeshire, where Withybush General Hospital still technically retains seven ICU beds. However, ongoing staff shortages and the discovery of unsafe RAAC concrete have meant that many patients requiring critical care from Pembrokeshire are already being transferred to Glangwili. Now, with Llanelli patients added to the demand, access to critical care is under further pressure across the region. Costly specialist ambulances from Cardiff are used to transport ICU patients between Llanelli and Carmarthen hospitals (Image: NHS) Hywel Dda University Health Board is expected to launch a 12-week public consultation on its Clinical Services Plan this week, with options that could lead to permanent reconfiguration of hospital services across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, and Ceredigion. However, documents seen by The Herald confirm that changes such as the ICU downgrade may proceed before consultation results are finalised. Appendix 7.55 of the Clinical Services Plan states: 'We recognise that the need to respond to service fragility may mean some service change and investment decisions are required ahead of any final reconfiguration, and these will be developed with service, operational and executive leadership.' Another section of the Plan notes: 'Due to the nature of service provision across Mid and West Wales, it is recognised that a wide range of services have some fragilities. This was a key driver behind the development of the Health Board's strategy which seeks to reduce, if not eliminate, the risks to sustainable service provision.' Hywel Dda University Health Board's Medical Director: Mark Henwood (Image: HDUHB) Commenting directly, Hywel Dda University Health Board's Medical Director, Mark Henwood, said: 'There has been a temporary change in place for critical care services at Prince Philip Hospital since July 2022. This was approved by the Board because of an inability to safely staff two critical care units with Consultant staff in Carmarthenshire providing care to the most unwell patients. This has meant that the sickest patients have been stabilised and transferred mostly to the Critical Care Unit at Glangwili Hospital. 'The temporary change was needed to improve our ability to safely deliver our critical care services in Carmarthenshire with the staffing available. 'We launched our Clinical Services Plan consultation at our Board Meeting today and Critical Care is one of the services which we will be looking at. 'In the consultation, options A and B propose having fewer intensive care units, and Option C proposes maintaining the current temporary arrangement at Prince Philip Hospital, where the sickest patients are transferred to Glangwili intensive care unit. 'In all options, bringing specialist critical care consultants together onto fewer sites would make the service more sustainable, improve safety, and help meet quality standards for our patients.' However, critics argue that the Health Board's response amounts to a technocratic justification that fails to meaningfully address community impact, consultation integrity, or patient safety. Lee Waters MS: 'You can't run a consultation while services are being stripped away' Lee Waters MS: The people of Llanelli deserve proper, local access to intensive care Commenting, Llanelli's Member of the Senedd, Lee Waters, told The Herald: 'It looks very much like decisions about critical care at Prince Philip Hospital are being made before the public's had a real say—just like we saw with the overnight closure of the Minor Injuries Unit. That's not how you build trust. The people of Llanelli deserve proper, local access to intensive care, and I'm not convinced the Health Board has a credible plan to deliver that. I've always tried to be reasonable about change, but in this case the case simply hasn't been made. You can't run a meaningful consultation while services are being quietly stripped away.' Dame Nia Griffith MP: 'This erosion of services by the backdoor has got to stop' Commenting, Llanelli's MP, Dame Nia Griffith, said: 'I am extremely concerned to hear reports of intensive care services at Prince Philip Hospital being scaled back, because people in Llanelli should be able to access this care here, and not see loved ones taken all the way to Glangwili for services that have hitherto been provided in Llanelli. 'Moreover, the fact that this is happening without there having been any consultation, or even any mention of this, completely undermines trust in the Health Board. I will be seeking an urgent meeting with Hywel Dda health board bosses to seek clarification, and make it absolutely clear to them that they must recognise the need for these services in Llanelli and design their staffing model accordingly, with full teams of appropriately qualified staff based here. 'Everyone knows that they are already struggling for space in Glangwili so it makes no sense to be sending more Llanelli patients up there, and on top of that, there is the cost of transporting patients, the discomfort for the patients and the anxiety and inconvenience for the family. This erosion of services by the backdoor has got to stop.' Welsh Conservatives: 'Declare a health emergency' Commenting, a Welsh Conservative spokesperson said: 'The downgrading of ICU services at Prince Philip Hospital before public consultation is unacceptable and undermines trust in the health system. 'The Welsh NHS is in crisis under Labour, with over 10,000 patients waiting more than 12 hours in A&E and two-year waits still unacceptably high, the Welsh Labour Government continues to fail our communities. 'The Welsh Conservatives would declare a health emergency, directing the resources and the entire apparatus of government at the health service, ensuring timely access to care and restoring faith in our Welsh NHS.' Sam Kurtz, Senedd Member for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire added: 'If any decisions are taken before the consultation has concluded, then both the Health Board and the Welsh Labour Government must be prepared to justify them to a deeply concerned public. 'Recruitment has long been a challenge, one that has only worsened under the shadow cast by ongoing uncertainty over the future of healthcare in West Wales. 'That uncertainty stems from the Welsh Labour Government's continued drive to centralise services, often to the detriment of rural communities.' Kurtz added: 'Access to critical healthcare should never be a postcode lottery.' Campaigners: 'Not acceptable – and a shock' Shocked: Hospital campaigner Cllr Deryk Cundy was not consulted, he said (Image: BBC) Chair of the SOSPPAN campaign group, Councillor Deryk Cundy, told The Herald that they had raised concerns with Hywel Dda over 'rumours from a separate source' suggesting changes to intensive care were already under way — before any formal decision by the Health Board. 'We have not been directly contacted about these changes,' he said. 'SOSPPAN has been working closely with Hywel Dda trying to find a way forward — recommending a merger of the Minor Injuries Unit and Same Day Emergency Care, operating 16 hours per day, with increased mental health cover available in Llanelli 24/7.' He said that when combined with the existing 24-hour Acute Medical Assessment Unit, this could improve service delivery in Llanelli and reduce pressure on Glangwili Hospital. However, he described the ICU downgrade as 'a shock' and 'not acceptable'. 'For too long, Hywel Dda management have said departments are unsafe and instead of making them safe, they shut them down — only to reopen them 20 miles away. We will be asking for an early meeting with the Health Board, and if these proposals are confirmed, we will express our determination to prevent any further reductions in service at Prince Philip Hospital.'
Edinburgh Reporter
2 days ago
- Business
- Edinburgh Reporter
Views sought on East Lothian Council buildings including Brunton Theatre
The future of East Lothian council buildings including The Brunton Theatre, has been put to the public as the local authority looks to save £3,6m in running costs. A new survey has been launched seeking residents views on the use of 29 buildings ranging from the RAAC-hit theatre to village halls, libraries and local offices. They are being asked to describe the value the buildings bring to their communities as well as for views on how they could be used in future. East Lothian Council said the month long survey which includes drop in sessions across the county is an 'engagement process' and a chance for people to have a say over how its properties are used. They said: 'While there are no plans to stop or reduce these services, new approaches to the operation of buildings could help ensure the council has good quality, well used assets within local communities offering modern and flexible facilities to meet the needs of local residents. 'This could be achieved by using buildings differently, for example in some communities co-locating services which might currently be delivered from different buildings under one roof. 'There could also be opportunities for communities to take over the running of some buildings – such as by leasing them, community asset transfer or looking at opportunities with community planning partners and others.2 Among the buildings being discussed in the survey is The Brunton Theatre, Musselburgh, which is closed and expected to be demolished after the discovery of crumbling concrete known as RAAC in its ceiling. People are asked whether they used the theatre before it shut its doors, what they believe it brings to the community and if the council 'need to replace the Brunton Hall & Theatre'. Also in the survey are the council's Haddington headquarters John Muir House alongside the attached former courthouse, which is owned by the local authority. People are asked about the head office 'are there any ways of making savings or increasing / generating income at this building that could be explored?' Participants in the survey are told the could has approved savings including £3.6m from reducing current operational property running costs, alongside £23.4m capital receipts from land and property sales. The council said: 'In order to support these challenges, it is hoped this placed based asset review will ensure the council operates good quality and well utilised buildings with modern facilities in a sustainable and efficient way.' Drop in sessions are being held next month at various sites. By Marie Sharp Local Democracy Reporter Like this: Like Related
