A Plaid Cymru councillor has repeated calls for a 24-hour Accident and Emergency unit at Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr.
Former regional AM for South East Wales Lindsay Whittle, who stood in this year’s Assembly election as a candidate in Caerphilly, made the comments after it was revealed that around 600 patients a year were being referred mainly to Newport’s Royal Gwent Hospital for treatment.
Figures provided under the Freedom of Information Act to Plaid Cymru show that 659 patients in 2013 were refered on, mainly to the Royal Gwent, 717 in 2014/15 and 622 in the last financial year.
The health board also revealed that the Ystrad Mynach hospital has three emergency nurses on a Monday, and two during the week and at weekends with two registered nurses each day and one healthcare support work for a Tuesday consultant’s clinic.
Cllr Whittle, who is also a former council leader, said: “My view during the Assembly election campaign was that people in the Caerphilly area deserve a better service from the NHS.
“The current service is not acceptable and certainly not what people expected when the hospital was first proposed.”
The health board has previously stated there will never be a full A&E at the hospital citing a lack of infrastructure at the site and a shortage of doctors.
I have campaigned on this, as has Sam Gould the other election candidate for AM, for years. We, the public, were deceived when we were told the Miners Hospital was closing but was going to be replaced by a new hospital.
I called it a glorified cottage hospital when it opened ,
We were definitely conned into having this hospital, They have left health care assistants in charge of patients on occasions which is not on at all. The place has so much potential we need it running properly.
lets not forget who sold us this con . it was Lindsay whittle when plaid cymru was running the borough and defended it . now they are using public anger as a platform to gain power when the new super hospital at Cwmbran opens ystrad hospital will become a DAY CENTRE
Yes, you are right.