Health leaders questioned as bed numbers fall in hospitals

Dale Spridgeon, Local Democracy Reporter

Cuts to hospital and hospice beds are sparking concern over emergency and end-of-life care.

The “disappointment” of island residents over the recent loss of hospice beds in Holyhead has been raised with health board chiefs.

Among a raft of issues from dental care to long waits in A&E, they were also quizzed over what would happen during medical emergencies should the Britannia and Menai Bridge close at the same.

The questions came during a meeting of Anglesey County Council’s partnership and regeneration scrutiny committee, on Tuesday (November 26).

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board’s [BCUHB] chair Dyfed Edwards and director of operations for the West Integrated Health Community at BCUHB Paul Andrew were giving an update on a report over scrutiny on strategic partnerships.

Chair of the council committee, Cllr Dylan Rhys posed a question on the redistribution of hospice beds at Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley.

It followed the recent news that St David’s Hospice would temporarily close its end of life and palliative care inpatient unit at Holyhead from October 2025.

The hospice had previously cited the impact of rising running costs and reduced income. It has pledged to review the closure in July 2026.

Cllr Rees’ question came after Mr Andrew had given a presentation of statistics describing a ‘snapshot’ in time of an average day, in November, showing hospital activity of residents from Anglesey.

It described how there were 33 patients in beds at the Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley.

Cllr Rees said: “One question which springs to my mind, you talked of the number of patients in Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley.

“We, as a community, are very disappointed by the recent closure of the hospice in Penrhos Stanley.

“Has the four bed unit that was part of the hospice now been transferred across for use by Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley, so that more patients can be seen by the hospital?”

Mr Andrew said the board “understand the community’s concerns.”

He said: “What has happened is the health board has re-provided, so those patients that would have been in that four-bed ward, should they need to be, will be within that 33 bed base.

“The four bed ward area is providing therapies, and other resources that are provided as part of that. There does remain one bed in St David’s hospice, should that be required.

“There has been regular, I think fortnightly, meetings to update and upskill teams, some training around pharmacy, it is my understanding, to make sure that our teams are able to care for those patients.

“As it stands, to date, we have not had any concerns or examples that needed further investigation.”

Cllr Ken Taylor then queried what would happen in an emergency should both the Britannia and Menai Bridge close at the same time. He said: “Is there a plan in place to deal with that?” He also asked if it would impact hospitals on the island.

He said: “Are there medics on the island or would you have to use Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley and the hospital in Llangefni?

“Everyone on the island is quite concerned about this situation.

“Should we be investing more in both hospitals on the island, so there are more resources and facilities?”

Mr Andrews said there were “business continuity plans” in place for such events citing Storm Darragh, when he had been on duty, and both bridges were closed.

“In those circumstances we come together as a region, it is true regional working, led by the police force and  Tactical Control Group (TCG)

“We would link in, through TCG, and should we have any concerns about the need for access, in the [Storm Darragh] example, there were police vehicles at both ends of the bridge, should a police escort be required to get an ambulance over.”