THE HERALD can reveal that in recent days, expectant mums expecting to deliver their babies at West Wales General Hospital, Glangwili, were turned away and sent to Withybush Hospital instead. A shortage of maternity beds meant that patients could not be admitted at the Carmarthen Hospital. 

• As SCBU cut looms, Glangwili can’t cope

• Transport plans questioned

In addition, the Herald understands that four C-sections, two elective and two emergency, were recently performed at Withybush within one twentyfour hour period. In the case of the emergency C-sections, Welsh Health Minister Mark Drakeford’s purported “safety net” would have been of no use at all in keeping mums and babies safe. The Herald has been told that such was the shortage of SCBU spaces in the Local Health Board area that a baby from Carmarthen requiring special care had to be transported to North Wales to receive appropriate treatment, while another mum had to be transported to Bridgend to have her baby delivered. We spoke to Peter Milewski, retired consultant surgeon and health campaigner: “As a result of the service cuts, I dread to think what is going to happen if the Withybush SCBU is closed in August. The Board will probably find that it’s full and there’s nowhere for the babies to go, so it won’t be able to close it (or relocate the staff that run it). “For many years, significant numbers of Grade 1 or 2 Caesarean sections have taken place each week at Withybush. Grade 1 or 2 means 15 minute urgency so obviously wouldn’t reach Carmarthen. Some of them occur out of the blue in low-risk multiparous women of exactly the type who would be considered (by the health board, not by me!) suitable for an isolated midwifery unit. “These are the women who will lose their babies, and, occasionally, their lives. “On top of that, there are the women who develop their complication at home and will be supposed to be taken to Carmarthen. That can never be eradicated. It’s clear that some will not make it, whereas they would have to Withybush. “It is common for babies to be shifted in various directions between SCBUs. For example Swansea may be full and transfer their babies to Withybush (I’ve seen that happen myself, and it’s not an isolated incident). Again, what’s going to happen to them?” Another confidential source working in the Health Board has confirmed that in 2012 there were 60 Grade 1 (immediate) or Grade 2 (within half an hour) emergency Caesarean sections. That’s at least one expectant mum and baby each week who would not make it to Carmarthen. There were 120 less urgent C-sections. Even some of those may not have made it to Carmarthen. While under the new arrangements, some of those 60 will have been recognized as high risk and sent to Carmarthen, ostensibly low risk and unpredictable patients would not have been sent there. There is no indication that that 2012 was different from any other year. We asked Peter Milewski about the figures and he told us: “It certainly accords with my impression when I was working. When I was in theatre it was not uncommon for me to have to postpone a case to make way for an emergency Caesarean Section.” Patient transport, a major issue which is yet to be resolved has also been thrown into sharp relief with the revelation that expectant mums cannot be transported by Air Ambulance in an emergency. David Williams, from Pembrokeshire Health Concern said: “It has always been the case that women in labour or likely to go into labour cannot be transported by air ambulance for lack of room, equipment and expertise. “Patients are loaded feet towards the tail of helicopter so no room to work at business end and currently helicopter staff are not allowed to go below waist. The Health Board – apparently – did not know this. When challenged it said the Board would get bigger helicopter. However, due to the new A & E, dialysis unit and car park changes nothing bigger than current helicopter can land at Withybush, anyway. To use a larger helicopter, the Board would either have to build bigger helipad or land at Withybush airport and have patients transferred to that location by road ambulance, assuming one is available. “When it comes to emergency consultant cover, the Welsh Government has said that it is not how far away a consultant can live from the relevant site but the time taken to be able to return for emergency work purposes. It is for local employers to consider service needs and establish local limits. “The Deanery requirement for full A & E cover, which is required to meet the out-of-hours paediatric plan, is that the consultants are to be within 20 minutes of hospital 24/7. Therefore transferring to Glangwili, which is minimum of 45 minutes away, means A & E cover will be lacking. “The Health Board may try to say all consultants will have to live around Whitland (!), but as the Board claims to have a recruitment problem (disputed and shown to be contrived). So, telling consultants where to live will not making recruitment easier. “How many are you going to need to keep on call 24/7, as those on duty at Glangwili will be more than twenty minutes away from of Withybush and those off duty surely cannot be on call 24/7 – and that’s without factoring in staff sickness, absence, or holiday cover. A Health Board spokesperson told The Pembrokeshire Herald: “I can confirm that nobody was transferred to another Health Board due to capacity issues. “We would like to reassure the public when our obstetric services is on one site there will be no reduction in beds. Locating our obstetric services on one site is only part of the service modernisation of our maternity services. “In addition to the obstetric service there will be a midwifery led unit on both the Glangwili Hospital and Withybush Hospital sites.”