Local Plaid Cymru politicians have today called for the Welsh Labour Government to intervene following the announcement that overnight Minor Injuries provision will be scrapped at Llanelli’s Prince Phillip Hospital from November.
It was announced last month, following a meeting of the Hywel Dda Health Board, that the Minor Injuries Unit at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli will close overnight for six months from November due to safety issues raised by Health Inspectorate Wales following an unannounced inspection last year.
The unit will half its operating hours for patients, shifting from 24 hours to a 12-hour daytime service. A statement from the Health Board also cited increased difficulty to cover the MIU rota due to a lack of suitably qualified doctors, particularly overnight.
Cllr Alex Evans, Plaid Cymru Llanelli Rural and County Councillor for the Glyn Ward, introduced a motion before Carmarthenshire County Councillors today calling on Welsh Government to intervene on behalf of the residents of Llanelli, which was unanimously supported.
Introducing the motion before full council, Councillor Evans said:
“Welsh Government have allowed the medical recruiting crisis to reach a point where Hywel Dda cannot sustain an MIU in the largest town within its area.
Even getting to see a GP has become an arduous task for many people and plenty of residents have given up on trying to see a dentist – all symptoms of our government’s utter failure in medical workforce planning.
The consequences of an overnight closure do not bear thinking about. Welsh Government and Jeremy Miles MS, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care have a duty to step in and safeguard our MIU.”
Cllr Terry Davies, Plaid Cymru Town and County Councillor for the Tyisha Ward in Llanelli, added:
“Like the rest of the community in Llanelli, I’m shocked and extremely concerned by Hywel Dda Health Board’s decision to close Prince Philip’s MIU overnight for six months. But I am also staggered by the sheer hypocrisy of local Labour politicians who are trying to pull the wool over the eyes of the people of Llanelli in this matter by absolving their party of any blame.
They seem to forget that the Labour Welsh Government have run the NHS in Wales for the past 25 years. Prince Philip was downgraded on their watch when the A&E closed some 10 years ago – and now this. It is another symptom of their failure, and it’s the people of Llanelli who are suffering once again.”
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