CALLS have been made for the health board to review a decision to move a stroke unit away from Merthyr Tydfil with councillors highlighting the “severe challenges” that stroke patients are facing.
A notice of motion from the Independent group was approved by full council in Merthyr Tydfil on Wednesday, June 11 and raised ongoing concerns about the impact that moving the acute stroke unit from Prince Charles Hospital in Gurnos to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant is having.
It said that reports indicate that they are experiencing delays receiving critical care, exacerbating their conditions and increasing the risk of long-term disability.
It added that Royal Glamorgan Hospital continues to operate at full capacity raising “serious concerns” about its ability to manage the additional patient load effectively and the lack of proper public transport infrastructure to RGH remains a “significant barrier” for families wishing to visit their loved ones impacting patient recovery and family well-being.
The motion called for an immediate review of the decision saying health and well-being of residents must be a top priority and that “we cannot stand by while critical healthcare services are compromised and our community’s needs are neglected.”
The motion approved by council asked that the leader requests that the health board addresses the council at the earliest opportunity to give a comprehensive update on the situation and the measures being taken to address these critical issues.
Councillor Andrew Barry, Reform UK, said he was really happy to support the motion saying he’d had personal experience of the stroke unit through a family member.
He said when he went up to speak to the nurses he sat in a room with 20 nurses who were all in tears because they knew how critical this service was and added that to see it taken down to the Royal Glamorgan and the “chaos” with the numbers they’re receiving down there is “just unbelievable.”
He said: “What we’re seeing here is the dismantling of the NHS in front of our very eyes. And it’s not acceptable. It has to change.”
Councillor Brent Carter, Labour leader of the council, said he was happy to write a letter to the chair and chief executive of the health board.
Councillor Clive Jones, Labour, said he was a member of the health board when the stroke unit at Prince Charles was officially opened adding that the facilities and staffing were “second to none.”
“It was opened because there was a demand for it for many years before that.”
He said there was a demand particularly to cover Merthyr Tydfil, the Cynon Valley, south Powys and Rhymney.
Cllr Jones said if you have a car it’s not so much a problem but if you don’t you’re then fully reliant on public transport which in this case would be a bus.
He said: “If anybody’s tried to get to the Royal Glamorgan on bus I can assure you it’s not an easy journey.”
He said depending where you live you’ll have to have either two or three buses to get there and that many of these people are older visiting their relatives.
Cllr Jones said he understood why the health board moved the stroke unit because of the staffing situation but other services have moved down to Royal Glamorgan that used to be in Prince Charles and have never come back.
“So the more pressure we put on the health board to ensure when they are fully staffed up that this service comes back to Prince Charles, the sooner the better.”
Councillor Anna Williams-Price, Labour, said: “Our residents and our communities deserve clarity.
“This decision, though made under understandable pressures, has real implications for patients and families in Merthyr Tydfil and we do need to know whether the staffing situation has improved and whether there’s a timeline for reinstating the acute stroke unit at Prince Charles Hospital and also what’s been the impact on patient outcomes in the interim.”
In January this year, due to severe medical staffing shortages, Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board made an urgent temporary change to some of its inpatient hospital stroke services which included the acute stroke unit at Prince Charles Hospital moving to the Royal Glamorgan.
At the time the health board said it does not currently have the number of specialist stroke doctors to provide a safe service at both hospitals at this time.
It said the change has not affected the ability of emergency departments at any of its hospitals to treat those attending with a stroke or suspected stroke and that any patient suffering with a stroke who attends any of its emergency departments would continue to be provided with the urgent treatment they need, swiftly and expertly.
Patients who require more intensive treatment and care will then be transferred by dedicated ambulance to the centralised acute stroke unit at Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
At the time of the announcement the health board said it appreciated the concern that this urgent change has caused but that a lack of specialist staff in the UK, worsened by long-term sickness and absence within the health board stroke team, meant it was currently not possible to maintain a safe acute stroke service across two hospitals.
It said making the change meant that it could continue to provide a service that saves lives and that it reduces the devastating effects of stroke for as many patients as possible.
The health board said at the time that it was continuing to work hard to address the staffing challenges in order to make stroke care more sustainable and accessible for the communities it serves within Cwm Taf Morgannwg and the wider south Wales region.
