People are waiting hours to be seen at A&E departments at west Wales hospitals as health chiefs admit they are facing an “unprecedented amount of pressure”. Hywel Dda University Health Board is dealing with large numbers of people attending hospitals at the same time as many members of staff are off work.
The issues are affecting not only hospitals in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, including those in Carmarthen, Llanelli, Haverfordwest and Aberystwyth, but also care services in the community. In response, the health board has asked people to only attend emergency departments if they have “a life-threatening illness or serious injury” such as severe breathing difficulties, severe pain or bleeding, chest pain, a suspected stroke, or serious trauma injuries. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
A spokesperson for the health board has implored people not to attend A&E if they have minor wounds, burns or scalds or other minor injuries, and to instead visit a minor injury unit. Furthermore, health bosses are asking anyone with a relative or loved one in hospital to support them at home if they are well enough to be discharged, or to “consider whether a loved one could be supported in a temporary residential or nursing care setting”.
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Andrew Carruthers, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s director of operations, said: “We are dealing with a combination of high numbers of attendances, particularly in our emergency departments, and challenges in health professional staffing due to Covid-19. Our GP practices and hospitals are busy and we still need to follow specific requirements for the safe treatment of those patients with Covid-19 and those without.
"We are working with our local authorities as there are difficulties in discharging some patients due to similar staffing challenges the social care sector is facing. This means we have very limited beds available to accommodate patients who need admission. Our teams are helping patients by their clinical priority, but this does mean that, in some cases, waits in our emergency departments are hours long and far in excess of what we would strive to deliver. If you need medical help, please think carefully about the services you choose.”
The struggle faced by the health board in south west Wales is not an isolated one. On Wednesday, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board announced that the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff and the University Hospital in Llandough, near Penarth, were both operating at ‘escalation level four’ - the highest available level of escalation that denotes extreme pressure.
Twenty-four hours earlier, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board declared a business continuity incident (also known as a ‘black alert’), meaning services were under “sustained and unprecedented pressure”. In response, on Wednesday night, the Welsh Government admitted that the health and social care system in Wales was currently under “extraordinary pressure” as a result of a range of factors, including significant challenges caused by Covid outbreaks within hospitals, high levels of Covid in the community, staff sickness absence and blockages in patient flow through hospitals.
Health minister Eluned Morgan said: “The health and social care system in Wales is currently under extraordinary pressure and we would strongly urge anyone seeking care to make sure they access the right care in the right place, whether that’s through ‘help us, help you’, access to the NHS Wales 111 website or urgent and emergency care.
“We have been open about the challenges that NHS Wales, and 999 and emergency departments in particular are under. This is not a unique situation in Wales; health services across the UK are facing similar challenges. Our priority is to ensure the safe and efficient delivery of healthcare services and anyone with a serious or urgent need for hospital treatment and those who have ‘a life-threatening illness or serious injury’ should still attend the emergency department.
“Those who have a less urgent need or could access the treatment they need at an alternative setting can help reduce pressure by choosing the right service for their needs. The public can also help by supporting the timely discharge of their family members when they are ready to leave hospital. If you have a relative or loved one in hospital who is well enough to go home, but is waiting to be discharged with home care and community health support, you may be able to help them to get home more quickly if you and your family are in a position to support them at home.”
