Paediatric Care Unit at Withybush Hospital will now be open between 10am and 6pm

The Withybush Hospital Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit (PACU) will now be open between 10am and 6pm rather than 10am to 10pm for the foreseeable future, as part of an emergency measure introduced due to staffing shortages.

The cut is to be reviewed by the board in January, following the decision taken at a meeting in Llanelli.

It means any children require assessment or hospital admission after 6pm will be transferred by ambulance to Glangwili, Carmarthen.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said the move was needed for safety reasons due to ongoing concerns about paediatric consultant cover following the retirement of one consultant and another starting maternity leave.

The board heard that PACU hours had to be reduced in an emergency 10 times since June.

Health Board Chief Executive Steve Moore stressed the situation was not the thin end of the wedge for Pembrokeshire: “This should not be read in any way shape or form as a lack of commitment to Withybush.

“Whilst paediatrics is certainly a challenge we need to put it in the context of expanding services in Pembrokeshire.”

He added: “We’ve been working hard to grow and remain completely committed to our local services. The only way of having the support of the public is being completely open. This paper is an urgent paper that’s come out of an urgent situation. These changes have been made on the safest basis for the patients we treat; we believe this to be a temporary issue.”

Medical Director Phil Kloer stressed the measures would be temporary: “We’ve had difficulties for some time, it became more challenging in the middle of the year, and particularly challenging in the last month.”

He added: “Since June we’ve had to reduce hours for PACU in an unplanned way about 10 times, and in October four times, which is a worry for the public and clinicians; we believe there’s a safety risk in unplanned reductions to the service.”

Hywel Dda Community Health Council Chief Officer Alyson Thomas said: “We are incredibly disappointed that the public and patients in Pembrokeshire are again, having received assurances from the health board, are now in this situation.

“The ‘tipping point’ into an unsafe service, what the paper refers to, is routine maternity and holiday leave, they should be aware of this; what we are asking as the CHC is the health board review so it never happens again.

“The most fundamental thing, from the CHC’s view, is that patients have a safe service; the CHC has no choice agree to the recommendations.”

Board Member and Neyland councillor Simon Hancock expressed his “profound disappointment,” adding: “It seems to form the dark narrative of the death by 1,000 cuts; and I know that’s not the case. It really does harm the reputation of the health board.”

“My instinct would be we can’t oppose something related to children’s health.”

Steve Moore said: “A lot of what had gone on over the summer had been done in good faith, the organisation trying to fix the situation, it was probably a triumph of hope over reality.

“We have a number of fragile services, this isn’t the only one; this is not where we want to be at all.

“We’ve never said anything other than this organisation has some significant challenges.”

Moving part of the recommendation, Chair Bernadine Rees said: “We have to agree, safety is the priority; very reluctantly we have to agree to the interim short-term reduction in hours.

“In the short term we have to accept the recommendation but we don’t accept the other recommendations; the interim position of safety, everything else remains the status quo.”

Members agreed to the temporary reduction in hours, to be discussed further in January.