Senedd Petitions Committee to discuss downgrading of hospital unit

Martin Shipton

Hospital campaigners from Llanelli have taken their fight to save overnight doctor-led cover at the town’s Prince Philip Hospital Minor Injuries Unit to the Senedd.

Save Our Services Prince Philip Action Network (SOSPPAN) committee members say they are encouraged after constructive talks were held with the chair of the Petitions Committee Carolyn Thomas MS over their calls for the immediate reopening of the MIU during the nights.

The overnight doctor-led service, which treated over 6,000 patients between 8pm and 8am over the last 12 months for which figures were recorded, was axed by Hywel Dda Health Board on November 1.

SOSPPAN amassed nearly 15,000 petition signatures in a matter of weeks urging a U-turn by the Hywel Dda University Health Board, despite the board’s insistence that the decision was made on safety grounds.

Strength of feeling

Campaigners say the strength of public feeling was immense and a “huge public vote of faith in the vital and sometimes lifesaving work of the wonderful nurses and doctors staffing the MIU overnight”.

The original petition and a new one – signed by almost all Llanelli Town, Llanelli Rural and Llannon community councillors, representing over 32,000 electors – will now be debated by the Petitions Committee.

SOSPPAN chair Cllr Deryk Cundy said he was “heartened” that the genuine concerns of the people of Llanelli would now be heard.

He added: “There are very real fears that lives will be lost unless the MIU is reinstated urgently.

We have taken our concerns, fears and arguments to the seat of power in Cardiff and had a very positive and sympathetic hearing from the chair of the Petitions Committee.

‘We are pleased and encouraged the matter will be considered by the committee itself and want the Petitions Committee to demand a debate in the Senedd where all MS’s will be able to see the flaws in Hywel Dda’s argument and the potential jeopardy the Llanelli public have been put in by the management cutting overnight MIU cover.”

Reinstated

SOSPPAN vice-chair Cllr Suzy Curry said: “When the lifesaving work of the Minor Injuries Unit – day and night – is highlighted at a national level it would beggar belief if the overnight MIU service is not saved and reinstated immediately.

“The people of Llanelli need and deserve nothing less. SOSPPAN, politicians of all parties, and the public are wholeheartedly behind saving this crucial service. If the service is not saved the price will be paid in the loss of people’s lives.

“It is official Welsh Government policy to site health services as close to the public as possible.

Removing overnight MIU cover at Prince Philip Hospital means the majority of patients face journeys to Morriston Hospital, Swansea, or Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, where they will often face long delays before being treated.”

SOSPPAN press officer, Cllr Shaun Greaney, said: “I believe the decision is dangerous and detrimental to the safety of Llanelli people. We have discovered that doctor vacancies at the MIU for night-time cover have not been sufficiently well advertised, or even not advertised at all.

‘It seems to me like total mismanagement. If it was a private business it would go bust. What kind of health service removes easy access from its public? The service should be improved, not downgraded like this.

“Health chiefs have also pointedly refused to reassure us that the MIU will return as a doctor-led unit at the end of this temporary overnight shutdown. We fear that unless the Welsh Government steps in, Hywel Dda health chiefs will axe the overnight service permanently.

‘It’s a matter of life or death.”

Letter

SOSSPAN secretary Cllr John Prosser wrote an accompanying letter on behalf of the committee and the signatories on the two petitions. In it he stated: “Local leaders view the MIU as a crucial component of Prince Philip Hospital’s service provision and an asset to the community’s well-being. By advocating for its immediate reopening, they aim to ensure that all residents have access to safe, prompt healthcare, particularly at night.

“By appealing directly to the Welsh Government, we as councillors hope to prompt an intervention that reopens the MIU and restores its services immediately. This collective action emphasises the importance of considering local voices in healthcare decisions, ensuring that vital medical services like the MIU are accessible, responsive, and inclusive for all residents.”

According to the health board, the adjustment to 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.