Patients have been moved after a major incident was declared at Withybush Hospital following the discovery of weak concrete in the building.

A number of surveys have taken place at the Haverfordwest hospital to identify the scale and impact of lightweight reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the building, commonly used from the 1960s to the 1990s.

The work – which began in May - for surveying and analysing any potential effects or damage was set to continue for a further seven months.

During the period of survey work, extra beds have been made at other Pembrokeshire hospitals to ensure that patients receive care and treatment with minimal disruption.

It has been found that the scale of issues identified puts extra pressure on the availability of clinical space and is likely to have a knock-on impact on services.

So far, the hospital has had to close three wards due to the condition of the RAAC planks.

On Tuesday, August 15 Hywel Dda University Health Board declared an 'internal major incident' at Withybush in relation to RAAC so that it can "stand up to its command and control structures".

It says this will allow the health board to prioritise the work of teams to deal with the emerging issue and support from partner agencies who are members of the Dyfed Powys Local Resilience Forum.

The health board said in a statement: “While best efforts are being made to conduct survey work as quickly as possible, the resulting findings of the survey work is, in some cases, requiring patients to be moved from wards to alternative locations and adapting services to reflect the availability of the site.

“As time progresses, this is likely to have an impact on other health board services at other sites as we move patients and services to alternate locations.

"Local mitigations are also being put in place, including structural props and temporary closure of impacted areas.”

RAAC is a material commonly used in buildings between the 1960s and 1990s and a range of NHS buildings across the UK – including Withybush and Bronglais Hospitals – have been confirmed to have had the material.

Hywel Dda said it is working with a Welsh Government approved external contractor to find out the scale of the problem, which involves surveying every plank of RAAC on site and assessing the impact of remedial works if planks are found in a poor condition.

The health board advises that patients should attend their appointments and services at Withybush as usual unless they have been told otherwise, but to bear in mind that this may change at short notice.

The health board said that wherever possible, patients will be directly contacted if a change is made to a service or clinic they are due to attend.

Commenting on the news that a major internal incident has been declared at Withybush hospital, Preseli Pembrokeshire Senedd Member Paul Davies said: “It’s of critical importance that survey work is done quickly and I hope that Hywel Dda University Health Board is doing everything possible to make sure that happens.”

“The Welsh Government also has an important role to play in supporting the Health Board and ensuring it has the support and resources it needs to understand the scale of the problem - and to ensure remedial work takes place as quickly and safely as possible, so that patients can continue accessing services at Withybush hospital.”

“Given the seriousness of the situation and the impact it will have on the delivery of services in Pembrokeshire, I will be writing to the Health Minister to ensure the Welsh Government provides the Health Board with the support that it will need.”

“Remedial work needs to take place as soon as possible so that services continue at Withybush hospital.”