Hospitals under major pressure
Health chiefs in plea for public’s support as virus cases increase
HOSPITALS in west Wales are in a “very difficult position” as we approach Christmas due to high transmission levels of Covid-19, the local health board has admitted.
Hywel Dda University Health Board is appealing for public support because its hospitals, including Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, are operating “under extreme pressure”, with outbreaks closing wards.
HOSPITALS in west Wales are in a “very difficult position” as we approach Christmas due to high transmission levels of Covid-19, the local health board has admitted.
Hywel Dda University Health Board is appealing for public support because its hospitals, including Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, are operating “under extreme pressure”.
Outbreaks of coronavirus have occurred at all of the health board’s general hospitals - in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion - resulting in ward closures over the past few weeks.
As well as dealing with significantly more cases of Covid-19 than it did during the first wave of coronavirus in the spring and summer, hospitals in west Wales are also battling a shortage of clinical staff.
Because of that shortage, Hywel Dda cannot staff all of the beds that it would otherwise expect to have open at this time of year, and it has had to transfer some staff and patients to field hospitals located in both Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire.
In data released by Public Health Wales on Monday, there were 64 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in Carmarthenshire in the 24 hours up to Sunday. This was based on 232 testing episodes which returned a positive proportion of 27.6%.
Furthermore, the infection rate in Carmarthenshire (based on the number of positive cases per 100,000 people) was at 448.2 for the seven days up to December 9 - more than double the rate in neighbouring counties Ceredigion (202.2) and Pembrokeshire (184.4).
Because of the current situation, Hywel Dda is pleading for the public’s help to ease the pressure on them by following government guidance, including staying out of each other’s homes except in limited circumstances.
They are also asking people to call 999 only for urgent and emergency care, to call 111 rather than attending A&E for non-urgent needs, and to play a helpful role by supporting the discharge of relatives from hospitals to their homes.
Andrew Carruthers, director of operations at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “A number of vaccines are being developed and last week’s news about the approval of one of these is a hugely welcome and positive development. But, it is critical for the public to understand that we are still at a very dangerous point in the cycle of the pandemic and there is still some way to go before we can return to normality.
“We are dealing with significantly more cases of Covid-19 in our hospitals than we previously had in the spring. Unfortunately, this has also affected our workforce and severely hampered our capacity and escalation plans.
“While we are confident that the number of declared hospital outbreaks is now going down, and that we are able to deep clean and re-open wards safely again, the single biggest issue we face remains staff sickness. This is having a critical effect on our ability to provide care for all but those with emergency or urgent medical conditions, or those who are accessing cancer services. We need to ensure that the services we provide are safe and prioritised in terms of clinical need, so that staff are operating safely.
“I want to be very clear that we will get through this, but we need the public’s help now to stop onward transmission of the virus in our communities and to give our workforce a chance to recover, so that they are able to provide safe and effective care for our patients.”
“We are dealing with significantly more cases of Covid-19 in our hospitals than we previously had in the spring
Andrew Carruthers