Partner ‘would have bled to death’ if hospital minor injuries unit was shut

Martin Shipton

A Llanelli woman says her partner would have bled to death if Prince Philip Hospital’s minor injuries unit had not been open after an eight-inch shard of glass pierced his back.

Hywel Dda University Health Board has announced plans to reduce the units opening times to 12 hours per day for six months from November 1.

Rachel Beckett’s partner Dwayne suffered a deep wound when he fell through a glass greenhouse.

The injury was squirting blood and Rachel attempted to dress it but blood continued to pour from it after she pulled the glass shard from the wound.

‘Sharp as a knife’

”When Dwayne fell through the greenhouse there was only a bit of the glass protruding out. I thought it was only a little bit so I pulled it out to dress the wound and discovered this eight-inch piece of glass that was as sharp as a knife,’ said Rachel.

‘I tried unsuccessfully to stem the flow but it quickly became obvious I would have to get Dwayne to hospital by car or he was going to die.”

Rachel raced to the minor injuries unit at Prince Philip Hospital.

She said: ‘If the unit had not been open Dwayne would have lost too much blood and he would not be alive today.’

Dwayne Jones, aged 52, of Dyffryn Road, Ammanford, said: ‘When the nurse removed the dressing blood squirted up her front and up her neck. They were shouting for the doctor to come. He arrived and put his fingers in the wound to stop the blood. Eventually they stitched me up.’”

‘Crazy’

Rachel strongly criticised Hywel Dda University Health Board’s decision to shut the minor injuries unit from 8pm to 8am.

“The accident and emergency department shouldn’t have been taken away. If anything that should be brought back due to the bottlenecks at Glangwili in Carmarthen and Morriston Hospital, Swansea. People are having to wait hours for ambulances and a journey of that distance isn’t always possible. What about people who haven’t got cars?

“The decision that they’re now going to cut the minor injuries unit’s hours for six months is just crazy.,” she said.

According to the health board, the proposal to adjust the opening hours of the unit is due to patient safety concerns, raised both by Healthcare Inspectorate Wales seeking assurances following an inspection in June 2023, and from staff working at the unit.

The concern is said to relate to the frequent inability to find suitably qualified doctors to cover the GP-led service, particularly in evening and overnight sessions. This, says the health board, has led to the service being led instead by Emergency Nurse Practitioners who, while extremely skilled at dealing with minor injuries, are not able to provide suitable care to patients who require a GP.