Plaid Cymru AM Lindsay Whittle has rounded on critics of the £172m Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr – which opened its doors last month – during a debate at the Senedd.
Mr Whittle, who represents South Wales East and is a former leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council, hit out at claims from Caerphilly Labour councillor Nigel Dix that Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr is nothing more than a cottage hospital.
Speaking during a debate on nurses, he said: “Despite what some local Labour councillors are saying, it is not a cottage hospital—there is not enough thatch in Wales to make a cottage hospital like this.
“Inside, it has the appearance not of a hospital, but more of a first-class hotel. Each patient has their own room with en-suite facilities. While I think that is great, and I am sure that we will do an analysis in six or 12 months’ time of patients’ opinions, we should also do an analysis of the effects that it has on nurses.
“It is a fantastic new building with state-of-the-art facilities, providing access to services that we have never had locally, particularly in the field of mental health.”
However, there is still confusion over what emergency service the new hospital offers.
Caerphilly Observer reader Helen Perry recently left the following comment on a story about the closure of Caerphilly Miners’ Hospital.
“Well I think you should of left this open. At least we had an A&E even if it was only open from 9am to 5pm. Now we have a new hospital with a minor injury unit. Took my son up there last night thinking it was A&E, to be told we had to go to the Heath. How pathetic. All that money on a new hospital with no A&E. This is one of the most important things we needed at the new hospital, because we have to drive all the way to Cardiff or the Gwent. You need to sort this out.”
Caerphilly Observer contacted the Aneurin Bevan Health Board to finally set the record straight and ask what services are on offer at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr when it comes to emergencies.
We received the following:
Local Emergency Centre at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr
Nurse Led Unit – open 24/7 365 days a year, adults and children can be seen.
Led by specially trained Emergency Nurse Practitioners who can work autonomously.
Supported by Minor Injury Unit trained triage/treatment nurses.
Segregated children’s waiting area, purpose built Minor Injury Unit facility, four consultation rooms, X-Ray facilities, large plaster room etc.
Non- minor injury presentations triaged and re-directed to: Medical Assessment Unit, GP Out of Hours Service (all available in Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr) or Royal Gwent Hospital, Nevill Hall Hospital, University of Wales Hospital.
The types of injuries and circumstances that lead to the use of Minor Injury Service are shown below, they are based on the description of the Enhanced Primary Care Minor Injury Service Specification. Critically they relate to a recent (i.e. less than 48 hours) injury, beyond 48 hours a patient should access their GP or Practice Nurse.
What is a minor injury?
Cuts, grazes and bruising
Recent wounds (less than 48 hours) including those that might need gluing, stitching or steri-strips
Minor burns and scalds
Tetanus immunisation after injury
Removal of foreign bodies form eyes, nose or ears
Minor eye problems including removal of contact lenses
Insect bites or other animal bites
Minor head injury (no loss of consciousness or vomiting and no other symptoms e,g headache, nausea, visual disturbance, dizziness.
Removal of rings, earrings or studs
Minor injuries to leg, below the knee and arm, below the shoulder, where patient can weight bear through foot or move fingers.
What do Minor Injury Staff do?
Clinical Assessments to ensure the patient is directed to the most appropriate care provider for their clinical need
Independent Clinical Decision Making
Risk Assessments
Interventions including:-
Temporary Emergency Plaster Casts
Suturing/gluing and steri-strips
Removal of foreign bodies
Dressing of wounds associated with recent minor injury
Bandage sprains
It is not the role of a Minor Injury Unit to provide:
Alternative to Emergency Department for serious and/or life threatening conditions.
Substitution services for primary or community care services (e.g. wound management/dressings, minor ailments, chronic conditions management).
Basically a Minor Injury Unit is a locally delivered service that deals with a patient who’s injuries or illness are not serious enough to require treatment in a main Accident and Emergency Department, but cannot be treated at home.
Minor Injury Units cannot be considered capable of providing the same level of service and same standards of resuscitation facilities as a fully equipped Accident and Emergency Department.
If Lindsay Whittle AM is 'having a go' at anyone with the temerity to criticise the lack of A & E facilities in Caerffili and the Rhymney Valley he should remember his comment, in this newspaper, only a few weeks ago. I quote his remarks below,
"I’ve written to the Aneurin Bevan Health Board to raise the issue of Accident & Emergency Unit facilities.
There are rumours flying around that there won’t be an A&E unit and I want to find out what the facts are. My view is that there must be an A&E unit in such a flagship development and I’m sure people would not accept a situation where a unit is not provided. I will keep Caerphilly Observer readers posted once I receive a response."
I absolutely agree with what Lindsay wrote then; the mystery is the sudden U-Turn he has executed without explanation. I have spoken to many voters and they are all dismayed that we do not have A & E at Ystrad Fawr. I have also spoken to many health service staff who are of the same opinion. I spoke to one person, with over 40 years experience working in the National Health Service, who described Ystrad Fawr as "a glorified assessment centre, not a hospital."
Lindsay would do well not to criticise councillors who are voicing the concern of the voters just because they are not Plaid Cymru members. My own opinion of the hospital, after several visits, is that some of the services offered are superb but we do need a 24 A & E to serve Caerffili and the Rhymney Valley. I support any councillor AM or MP willing to say so, regardless of the party that they pay allegiance to.
So, no accident and emergency unit then?
What about emergency dental services?, which the Anuerin Bevan Health board has a responsibilty to provide. Where, in Gwent is this provision?.
Whether politicians like it or not, and however it is spun, and, regardless of this medical unit being 21st century accommodation,which it clearly is by any imagination, the Anuerin Bevan Health board do not profess to provide any more than most General Practitioners provide at their surgeries so far as accident and emergency cover is concerned, my Doctor, for instance, undertakes minor surgery, wound dressing and more than one DOCTOR being on hand to triage patients,( not just a very valuable triage nurse) a practitioner nurse, and at least five other specialist nurses, my personal medical history records are on hand at the press of a button,they have a history of treating patients KNOWN to them.
I think, this new unit at Yatrad Mynach is using the `out of hours Doctor` facilities to fill the gaps in provision at the hospital?.
Really disappointed, there is no full A&E service at The new hospital …our experience at the Royal Gwent A&E has been extremely poor, with waits from 5 – 8 hours for the past three times we have had to take people there. what a shame!
y put sick ppl there if they wont get the treatment they need ?
My concern regarding the A&E situation is that the majority of the ailments that are currently being looked at within the hospital are or were being carried out by GP'S and surgery nurses during the day when people can access this if they have minor injuries as they are NOT an emergency. What about when we do have an emergency day or night we still have to travel to the Gwent or the Heath to be sat or (layed on a bed if your lucky) in a waiting area for hour after hour when there are empty beds in our NEW £172 MILLION HOSPITAL in Ystrad Mynach but alas there are no doctors to carry out the non minor injuries that happen within the Caerphilly County.
Really annoying how little use the new hospital is. If I had a minor injury I'd wait to see my GP. Caerphilly Miners Hospital was amazing even if A&E was only open 9-5. It's a shame the decision makers have made such a stupid error when employing medical staff. My partner was misdiagnosed and ended up losing a weeks work due to the incompetence of a nurse who made the diagnosis (doctors should do this hence the arduous training they go through!!) My friend was in labour and was taken by ambulance down to the stinking Gwent to have a C-Section as they didn't have the facilities (or should I say they didn't have suitably trained staff) at YYF. And what's this I hear about an epileptic man falling less than half a mile from the hospital and waiting nearly 2 hours for an ambulance to the Gwent…where he died?!!!
DISGUSTING!!!!!!!
I would suggest that Mr Whittle questions his argument. You do not attack fellow politicians for raising concerns over the lack of an A&E department. The A&E department is a vital part of a hospital and it's outrageous that there is A&E department.
Imagine this scenario. It's 5pm rush hour. Someone is having a heart attack, they call for the ambulance. After 10 minutes of travelling they die. They could have been saved if they reached full resuscitation facilities quicker. – The nearest A&E department being 20 minutes away (little traffic) by car doesn't seem like a good idea now. It sounds unlikely but It has happened.