Reports are circulating online that the nursing staff at Ward 10 at Prince Charles Hospital Merthyr Tydfil have been told that as of the 6th January there will no longer be a stroke service at Prince Charles Hospital. It is said the Stroke Unit, staff and patients, will be moved to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant.
Powys Teaching Health Board have an agreement with Cwm Taf Health Board to treat stroke patients in wider Brecon locality at Prince Charles Hospital Merthyr as this is their closest stroke centre. By relocating to the Royal Glamorgan Hospital in Llantrisant, this will double the mileage and double the travel time for Brecon stroke patients to get treatment. That means a poorer outcome for patients and more ambulance time taken up by transporting patients further.
James Evans MS, Senedd Member for Brecon & Radnorshire and Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health & Social Care, said:
“If this news is correct this is devastating news for my constituents in the Brecon area and residents in the Merthyr region. It is imperative that treatment for strokes starts as soon as possible. Any delay to treatment results in poorer recovery outcomes or death. To move these services further away makes no sense. This decision came out of the blue to staff and patients alike, and has major implications for stroke treatment for the population of South Powys. Cwm Taff Health Board and Powys Teaching Health Board should consult with the public over these changes”.
This is yet another example of Health Boards cutting local services to look for cost-savings yet the over-inflated management posts remain untouched. I will be writing to Cwm Taff Health Board and Powys Teaching Health Board to ask for an urgent meeting to question this decision and push for the stroke unit to remain at Prince Charles Hospital.”
