Emergency hospital being returned to its rugby use
THE field hospital at Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli is being taken apart so it can return to its former use this week.
Ysbyty Enfys Scarlets, as it was named – ‘ysbyty enfys’ is Welsh for ‘rainbow hsopital’ – was created within days during the first wave of the pandemic last year.
Thankfully, the field hospital was never needed and never treated any patients.
The Scarlets rugby region’s HQ became unrecognisable, with 350 hospital beds across three sites within the stadium: the Juno Moneta Indoor training facility, the Quinnell Lounge, and the firstfloor concourse in the South Stand.
Almost one year on, the facility, along with Ysbyty Enfys Carreg Las, at the Bluestone resort near Narberth, and Ysbyty Enfys Plascrug, in Aberystwyth, is being returned to its former use.
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s director of operations, Andrew Carruthers, said that the health board was “proud” to have been able to bring some of the field hospitals into use to help manage the demand during the pandemic.
He said: “We are extremely grateful to all of our partners, including local authorities, Llanelli
Town Council and private businesses such as Parc y Scarlets and Bluestone, for coming together early in the pandemic and making it possible for us to have these facilities at our disposal.
“From the outset, it was clear we could not predict the way the virus would spread, and we have known that being flexible in our use of these facilities would be key to the way we cared for patients.
“We are proud to have been able to bring some of our field hospitals into use to help manage the demand during the second wave in particular, and are currently looking at what level of support we may need going forward.”
Hywel Dda UHB confirmed last week that Ysbyty Enfys Scarlets, Ysbyty Enfys Carreg Las, at the Bluestone resort, and Ysbyty Enfys Plascrug, in Aberystwyth, would be decommissioned.
Ysbyty Enfys Selwyn Samuel, in Llanelli, will be retained until 2022 as a surge facility in the event of a possible third wave.
Cardigan Leisure Centre will be used as a test, trace and protect and mass vaccination facility.
At the time the Parc y Scarlets field hospital was unveiled last year, Carmarthenshire County Council leader Cllr Emlyn Dole: “I’m hoping that it will be a waste of money – I’m hoping that not one of those beds will have to be used.”