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Ambulances backed up at Withybush, as A&E department swamped

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A 69-YEAR-OLD from Milford Haven who suffers from COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) described by her daughter as being ‘unresponsive’ waited over two hours for an ambulance – despite it being urgently ordered by her GP on Tuesday (Nov 19)

Once finally at the hospital, the daughter said, the full scale of the crisis gripping Withybush’s A&E department became apparent – with her mum waiting five hours in an ambulance.

The daughter who does not want to be identified said: “According to a paramedic in the A&E car park, the hospital was so busy that every available ambulance in the Pembrokeshire area was waiting to unload patients, and the ambulance service was only able to respond to Code Red calls.
“One person, the paramedic said, had already passed away that day because he could not get help in time. The paramedic told me that he dreaded the start of each shift, thinking that it was going to be yet another 12 hours of hell.”
“We were well over five hours waiting to get into the hospital – at one point my mum was taken from the ambulance for a chest x-ray only to be returned back to the ambulance after coming back from radiology.
“Once we got into A&E it was utter chaos, people everywhere. I saw seven people or more being treated in communal areas – I saw patients being seen in the hallways to have IV cannulars taken out after bloods.

The woman’s partner confirmed her story, adding that he thought what was going on at the hospital was “unbelievable”.

But after the two hour wait for help, and the five hours in in the back of an ambulance, the worst was not over.

Nurses at that A&E got the patient mixed up with someone else.

Our source said: “My mum is on warfarin, so I found it strange that she had been put on a drip. I asked what was going on, and said my mum’s name and that’s when two nurses look at each other and realised that my mum wasn’t who they thought she was. This was just before they were about stick something in her through a drip.

“A bag was already hooked up… she had no arm band – as soon as they knew it was the wrong patient they took the bag off the drip stand.

“It was definitely a near miss.”

The Health Board has been asked for a comment.

Our report comes just months after the Community Health Council said that more must be done to reduce waiting times at Withybush A&E.
Community Health Council members carried out an unannounced visit over the summer.

A report to the Pembrokeshire locality CHC on August 7 showed an increase in the number of 12 hour breaches – with some staying overnight at the unit – at Withybush A&E since October 2017, with it topping 450 cases in February this year.

Speaking a few months back, Hospital manager Janice Cole-Williams added that there had been increases in the stays in hospital which impacted in the wait for beds from A&E and staff were looking for solutions.

Deputy chief officer of Pembrokeshire CHC Helen Williams said that the report due on the A&E visit, which is yet to be signed off by the executive members, would recommend opening the discharge lounge at the weekend and keeping ambulatory care open seven days a week.

Ms Williams said it would depend on funds and there may be resistance to working weekends but in the “21st Century things don’t shut at 7pm on a Friday night.
“My opinion, not the CHC’s, but I think it should be operational full on 24/7.”

Another recommendation was to improve communication with patients about the length of wait expected and why there may be delays.

“If you keep patients informed, they recognise that the people behind the scenes are busy, it’s the not knowing when they will be seen.”

Local Assembly Member Paul Davies has expressed his disappointment to The Herald that Hywel Dda University Health Board has failed to meet the Welsh Government’s A and E targets.

In October, he said, 81.1% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours in urgent care departments. The target to be seen within four hours is 95 percent.

Mr Davies said, “It’s extremely disappointing to see that a significant number of patients living within the Hywel Dda health board region are not being seen within a four hour window. Despite the efforts of our outstanding NHS staff, the management of the health board is presiding over a shortfall in the number of patients being seen within four hours. We must remember that those attending an accident and emergency department are there to receive care as soon as possible and any delays could have severe repercussions on that patient’s health. Therefore, efforts must be redoubled by the health board and the Welsh Government to turn these figures around as soon as possible.”

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Rugby Weekly – Tenby’s promotion push continues

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It’s crunch time for all rugby clubs around the county, whether promotion is their aim or fighting relegation or even just trying to improve their league position, it’s now or never. 

Last weekend saw an important win for Fishguard in division two west which should put any relegation fears to bed completely. James Griffiths added an impressive 18 points for the Seagulls as they defeated Nantgaredig 33-19. 

Elsewhere in the second division, Milford were beaten 32-8 by a good Lampeter outfit. The Mariners are still a little too close for comfort with the drop zone but should have enough quality to see them safe. 

At the other end of the table Tenby sit in second place and have played fewer games than leaders St Clears and third place Lampeter. They won impressively again last weekend, beating Pontyberem 64-19 at Haywood Lane. Fletcher Broadhurst impressed with two tries as did Hywel Baker who also grabbed himself a brace. Another excellent performance in an outstanding season so far in which promotion would be the absolute icing on the cake. 

In Division Three West, Pembroke were well beaten by Laugharne 74-15 in which the outstanding Liam Price and Nico Setaro both crossed the whitewash 4 teams a piece. The latter also added 7 successful conversions. 

There was a local derby at Pill Parks where Llangwm hosted Pembroke Dock Quins and it was an exciting clash. The visitors won narrowly 28-23, Craig Barnett and Gethin Bradney both scored two tries for the Quins. The Wasps battled hard and will be proud of their performance, Gethin Thomas impressed for the hosts with two tries of his own but it wasn’t enough to secure the points. 

St David’s hosted the high flying Cardigan outfit and were unable to score in reply to the visitors 20 points, with it ending 20-0. The Saints however won’t be losing too much sleep over it as they have had a great season so far. 

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Stephen Crabb leads inquiry on retaining community bank services  

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PRESELI Pembrokeshire MP, and Chair of the Welsh Affairs Select Committee Stephen Crabb is leading an inquiry in Parliament that will investigate the closure of high street banks in Wales, as well as access to cash.

In November 2023, Pembrokeshire saw the closure of Lloyds Bank in St Davids, and in the coming months both Barclays Bank and Halifax in Haverfordwest are set to close. In recent years, Wales has experienced a rapid decline in the number of high street banking services available to the public. Already in 2024, 23 high street bank closures have been announced in Wales, while automated teller machines (ATMs) declined by nearly a quarter between 2018 and 2023.

The Committee willconsider how declining high street banking services are impacting vulnerable people and small businesses across Wales, who are often more reliant on cash than digital banking. It will also examine how Wales is being affected by the loss of high street bank services, and whether the problem is worse in Wales than other parts of the UK.

Mr Crabb is a staunch advocate for retaining community banking facilities, especially in rural communities like Pembrokeshire where many local branches remain the only source of face-to-face banking provision for miles.

Recently Mr Crabb challenged Barclays Bank senior management on their decision to close the bank branch in Haverfordwest– a move that will see Barclays not only pull out of the county town, but means they won’t have a branch left anywhere in Pembrokeshire. He has also engaged with LINK – the UK’s largest cash machine network – and continues to campaign on the basis that a Banking Hub is established and that ATM machines should be retained or installed, especially in areas worst affected by the closures.  

Following the launch of the inquiry, MP Crabb added: “It is really sad to see so many banks across Wales closing as online banking grows in popularity. Despite the advantages of online banking, for a rural community with an ageing population like Pembrokeshire, bank branches hold huge importance as they offer face-to-face customer service.”

“I am acutely aware of the inconvenience that the bank closures locally have already caused following hundreds of replies from constituents to my ‘online banking survey’ ”

“I am looking forward to gathering further evidence on this subject through the committee’s inquiry, and will continue to put pressure on the relevant stakeholders to ensure that adequate alternative provisions are made through the establishment of banking hubs as well as the instalment of ATM machines where necessary.”

“In this inquiry, we are particularly keen to hear from those likely to be directly affected by the shift away from cash and physical banks. I encourage anyone with first-hand experience of losing banking services to give evidence to the Committee”

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Trains resume between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock as works end

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TRAIN services resumed this morning (Thursday 28 March) after ten days of essential round-the-clock work to upgrade track and drainage between Carmarthen and Pembroke Dock.

The railway was closed from Monday 18 March to Wednesday 27 March to allow Network Rail teams to replace more than 200 metres of track and 300 tonnes of ballast (track stones) between Pembroke station and Pembroke Dock.

Work to improve the drainage between Narbeth and Kilgetty stations was also completed at the same time.

Nick Millington, Network Rail Wales and Borders route director, said: “This essential work in Pembrokeshire demonstrates our commitment to improving the reliability of the service we provide to passengers along our route.

“We know that replacing the track can be disruptive and very noisy, so I would like to thank the residents of Pembroke for their patience while our team carried out this crucial work.”

Colin Lea, Planning and Performance Director at Transport for Wales said: “We’re pleased that our colleagues in Network Rail have completed this essential work and that Transport for Wales rail services resumed today.

“We’d like to thank passengers for their patience while this work has progressed and look forward to welcoming passengers back in time for the Easter weekend.”

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