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Concerns raised over stroke unit closure plans

Craig Duggan
BBC News
BBC Auditorium style room with hundreds of people sat in a tiered seating area looking at panel of men in shirts. BBC
More than 400 people attended a meeting on Friday about the potential closure of two stroke units in the Hywel Dda health board

Residents have raised concerns about plans to close stroke units in two west Wales hospitals, saying plans to transfer patients between hospitals could be difficult in such a large, rural area.

Hywel Dda health board is considering closing the stroke units at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, and Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, and introducing a "treat and transfer" service, with specialist care being provided in Llanelli and Haverfordwest.

The Protect Bronglais Service, which organised a meeting on Friday, described the proposed changes as a downgrade.

The health board said changes to stroke services are needed to "meet standards and respond to service fragility".

More than 400 people attended Friday's meeting in Aberystwyth, including politicians from various parties representing mid, north and west Wales.

Also in attendance were residents from Ceredigion, Gwynedd and Powys - demonstrating the large geographic area served by Bronglais hospital.

Many politicians have urged the health board to keep the Bronglais stroke unit open, calling instead for investment in what was described as the best performing stroke unit in Hywel Dda.

Prof Philip Kloer, chief executive of Hywel Dda, who attended the meeting, said he recognised the strength of feeling on the issue, but added that the health board cannot provide across all of its hospitals "the kind of care that the evidence tells us would give the best outcomes after stroke".

Philip Kloer, in a blue shirt and blue lanyard, with glasses and grey hair and stubble in front of a stone wall
Prof Kloer says that changes are needed, but that the health board was "open to other ideas and other proposals".

Lisa Francis, chair of Protect Bronglais Services, said issues remain with the proposed changes, including around the logistics of moving patients to specialist care elsewhere.

"We have little or no information surrounding the transport of those patients," she said, adding that the ambulance service is already "overstretched".

"We want the health board to keep Bronglais as it is with rehabilitation services there, but ramp those services up. Improve it and develop it," she said, adding that it provides a "first-class service".

Hywel Dda provides services for a large geographic area, and says some of its clinical teams are spread across multiple sites and there is an over-reliance on a small number of individuals.

The consultation on the proposed changes runs until 31 August.