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Families in Ceredigion have expressed concern over proposed cuts to children’s healthcare services in the region. They fear the changes will lead to Angharad Ward in Aberystwyth’s Bronglais Hospital being closed and patients being transferred to Glangwili in Carmarthen. The planned reduction in capacity will last for six months initially, but some patients with serious conditions will need to go to a different hospital. The decision has alarmed parents and campaigners, who have come together to protest the move.
The health board, Hywel Dda, has said that it “understands some parents will be concerned” but that it will continue to offer the best care possible. The ward had been “operating at risk” since the start of 2020 due to a lack of pediatric nurses, according to a report presented to the health board. The proposed changes prompted photographer Judy Morgan to appeal for families to provide photographs of their children as a protest against the move. The result was a collage of images from 50 children who had all received treatment on the ward.
Ms Morgan, who works as a specialist maternity photographer, enlisted the help of fellow parent Cerys Humphreys after they discovered the temporary reduction in capacity. They were concerned that transferring patients would be traumatic for children and families. The health board has said that most patients will continue to be cared for at Bronglais for up to 24 hours. Lisa Humphrey, general manager of women and children’s services at Hywel Dda, acknowledged that the changes would affect some families but that the numbers were likely to be small.
Campaigners say that the proposed changes could cause considerable emotional and financial hardship for families who live in areas such as Tywyn, Bangor and Carmarthen. The concern is that the ward will eventually close and children’s services in the region will be further reduced. For parents such as Colin Harding, whose son spent weeks on Angharad Ward after complications with his appendix, the planned reduction in capacity is a troubling development. We can only hope that the health board will take the families’ concerns into account and continue to provide the best care it can
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