Labour run Rhondda Cynon Taf Council criticise Labour run Welsh NHS
CT Council Notice of Motion on Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board Proposals
Following the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board meeting this week, where it was decided to review options for the provision of A&E services at Royal Glamorgan Hospital, this Council places on record that full A&E services should be maintained and calls for the Health Board to review and implement a focused recruitment campaign, to recruit the required consultants to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg region to work across the 3 hospitals and not be employed at individual hospitals, which has been the failed strategy to date.
This Council further calls upon the Welsh Government to insist that Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board reviews what was agreed under the South Wales Programme almost 7 years ago due to increased demands on hospitals within the new Cwm Taf Morgannwg foot print, taking into account the significant housing developments and population growth within this new administrative boundary and within Cardiff North, and the impact this has had on the capacity and capability of the Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Princess of Wales Hospital and Prince Charles Hospital to manage the existing and future demand for services. It should also take in to consideration the current limited hours of operation of the Minor Injuries Units at both Ysbyty Cwm Cynon and Ysbyty Rhondda along with the need to increase out of hours GP provision within the community to reduce the demand already placed on A&E services and the staff that work there.
This Council has grave concerns on the impact on A&E waiting times at neighbouring hospitals due to a lack of capacity, should Royal Glamorgan A&E be closed or downgraded, and the huge additional pressure this will place on the ambulance service in terms of travel distance and also potential waiting times at hospitals due to capacity issues.
With Maternity services within our area placed into “special measures” and the wider Health Board placed in to “intervention,” and now with the further issues around A&E provision, we reaffirm this Council’s concerns and place on record that unless all options to retain services are fully considered, then this Council will call for the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board to be placed in to special measures.
While we accept that this isn’t an issue of funding but rather one of recruiting, we do not believe that the Health Board executives have tried hard enough in using the levers at their disposal to recruit the required number of consultants to run a safe service.
We therefore request that the Council Leader writes to the Chief Executive and Chairman of the Health Board expressing these views and placing on record this Council’s position that A&E services must be retained at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
We call upon Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board to double their efforts to recruit the required consultants to run a safe and sustainable A&E at Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
We also call for the Council Leader to write to the Health Minister to insist that as part of a review on any options brought forward that they must revisit the evidence from 7 years ago under the South Wales Programme, which is now out of date.
