It is being reported today that wards in two health boards have had to be closed due to an increase in patients being admitted with coronavirus.
Dyfed’s Hywel Dda health board have closed a ward in Carmarthen’s Glangwili Hospital and suspended orthopaedic surgery at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest.
The news comes as the Central Valleys’ Cwm Taf health board has also closed three wards to visitors at the Royal Glamorgan hospital in Llantrisant.
Last week, the Hywel Dda health board asked people to stay away from A&E units at all its major hospitals – located in Haverfordwest, Carmarthen, and Aberystwyth – and stated there were no doctors available at the Minor Injuries Unit at Llanelli’s hospital between 12-9pm on Bank Holiday Monday.
Reasons for these are being linked to coronavirus, with NHS beds being taken up by patients, staff being forced to self-isolate, and high demand for emergency care.
However, the Welsh Conservatives exposed the staff shortages crippling Wales’ NHS last month as the Welsh Labour Government’s mismanagement of the health service has resulted in nearly 3,000 vacancies across the country, leading to £1.3bn being spent on temporary workers to cover gaps.
Commenting, Welsh Conservative and Shadow Health Minister Russell George MS said:
“We have constantly been told that Mark Drakeford is a cautious handler of the Welsh Government’s response to coronavirus, yet that has not prevented hospitals coming under sustained pressure due to Covid cases, something he explicitly wanted to prevent, and Wales having the highest Covid-related death rate in the UK.
“But while these ward closures and surgery cancellations are being attributed to Covid patients, the problems can also be traced back to pre-pandemic problems of Labour’s own making after two decades of mismanaging Wales’ public services.
“Health boards are essentially being forced to temporarily close down parts of its operation due endemic staff shortages and high demand, issues the Welsh Government has long failed to address.
“If it could do a better job of handling public services and encouraging an entrepreneurial economy, maybe we attract more people to live in Wales and work in our NHS as well stop the brain drain happening on its watch.
“This only further demonstrates the need for a Wales-specific coronavirus inquiry.”
