Hospitals in west Wales are said to be facing an “unprecedented amount of pressure” which is expected to last for at least a week and bosses have urged people not to attend A&E unless absolutely necessary. The warning came from health chiefs at Hywel Dda University Health Board on Monday.
The health board, which manages healthcare in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, has also asked people to help relatives at home if it means they can be discharged from one of the four major hospitals across the three counties. You can keep up to date with the latest Carmarthenshire news by signing up to the local newsletter here.
However, the issues are not only affecting Hywel Dda’s main hospital sites, located in Carmarthen, Llanelli, Haverfordwest and Aberystwyth, but also in community settings as well, as health chiefs admit there are problems with discharging patients due to staff shortages in the social care industry.
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A spokesman for the health board pleaded with the general public to “only attend an emergency department if you have a life-threatening illness or serious injury, such as severe breathing difficulties, severe pain or bleeding, chest pain or a suspected stroke, or serious trauma injuries”. They added that if people had “less serious injuries” then they should visit a minor injury unit, such as those located at Cardigan Integrated Care Centre and Tenby Hospital, as well as those located at the health board’s main acute hospitals.
The spokesman added: “Spending as little time in hospital is better for patients and means that NHS beds can be freed up for others with urgent care needs. Supporting older patients to get home from hospital efficiently is an important part of their recovery and it also protects them from negative consequences of hospital admission, such as hospital-acquired infection, falls and a loss of independence. You can find out more about the hospital discharge process and guidance here. Please help us to make our service safer by sharing this information with friends and family. Thank you.”
This isn’t the first time in recent months that hospitals in west Wales have been at breaking point. In March, health bosses said they were facing “a combination of high numbers of attendances, particularly in our emergency departments, and challenges in health professional staffing due to Covid-19”. While things seemingly improved in April and May as the coronavirus pandemic continued to ease towards a point where restrictions are no longer required, the situation is now once again said to be very challenging for staff working across the Hywel Dda region.
"We are dealing with a high number of attendances, particularly in our emergency departments,” said Andrew Carruthers, director of operations at Hywel Dda University Health Board. "With the bank holidays ahead, we are keen that individuals choose the best level of care they need and help us to alleviate pressure on our emergency departments and across our services, including our GPs.
“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.”
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