LOCAL politicians have raised concerns following the results of an unplanned inspection at a Carmarthenshire hospital’s minor injuries unit.

Recently, a report was published by the Health Inspectorate Wales about the minor injuries unit at Prince Philip Hospital, Llanelli. The inspection found that the unit was under significant pressure which was ‘impacting on the delivery of safe care’ according to a recent inspection.

The inspection was carried out on June 26, 27 and 28 and found that whilst patients attending the minor injuries unit who needed only treatment were provided with a ‘timely and overall positive experience,’ patients who were needing to be accommodated on site for longer periods – such as needing a bed in another part of the hospital or to be transferred to another hospital – were unhappy with their experiences, with some being left on ‘surge’ beds for up to five days. These patients highlighted a lack of toilet and hygiene facilities which impacted on their dignity.

Staff were praised for treating patients with kindness, dignity and respect and in a timely manner and spoke positively of the support they provided each other but also spoke about their concern that there was not enough of them on shift to be able to do their jobs sufficiently.

The inspectors acknowledged that there were significant pressures on front door services, and at the time of the inspection, the service was under ‘immense’ pressure from multiple sources and noted that staff and the unit were not fully supported or equipped in light of the pressures including inappropriate pressures to the functionality of the unit as a minor injury service to be able to safely and effectively manage all presentations and patients accommodated in the unit. This included the inspectors not being able to be assured that there was sufficient and robust support for emergency nurse practitioners at times when there is an unexpected lack of medical cover on the unit.

Local politicians raised concerns about the report, particularly in the run up to winter, where NHS services will be under more pressure.

Adam Price, MS for Carmarthen East & Dinefwr, said: “For many of my constituents who use Prince Philip Hospital, this report will come as a concern. I understand that the NHS is facing significant pressures at the moment, pressures that will only increase as we head into winter, but it is vital that people have the confidence that they will receive a good level of care whenever they visit Prince Philip Hospital.”

Cefin Campbell, MS for Mid and West Wales, said: “This report is deeply worrying, especially with pressures on the NHS ramping up ahead of winter. It is now vital that the hospital implements the recommendations from the report so that patients can expect a sufficient level of care.”

The report highlights a number of recommendations for the hospital to implement and noted that a number of them were outside of the hospital and health board’s hands.