You can watch Plaid AM raise future of Morriston hospital in Assembly debate

Swansea risks losing further services unless Labour Welsh Government sets out clear vision

Plaid AM Dai Lloyd will today (Wednesday) raise his concerns over the future of specialist services at Morriston Hospital on the floor of the National Assembly.

In a debate proposed by Dai Lloyd, entitled ‘Protecting and developing regional centres of medical excellence’, he will warn that Wales risks losing specialist services in a ‘domino like effect’ unless the Welsh Government sets out a clear vision for the hospital.

Dr. Lloyd will point out that there is concern in South West Wales with regards to a centralisation agenda in healthcare, and that the Labour Welsh Government must recognise that Wales does not end in Cardiff.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health will have to respond on behalf of the Labour Welsh Government during Dai Lloyd’s debate.

Speaking ahead of the debate, Dr. Lloyd stated:

“The future of specialist services at Morriston Hospital is a very important one for people in South West Wales. The current proposal to locate the new Major Trauma Centre for South Wales in Cardiff, at the expense of Swansea, is the latest example.

“The recent suggestion by Professor Chris Moran that the award-winning Burns and Plastics Centre at Morriston would also ideally be located in Cardiff shows that services at Morriston are at risk. We have already lost neurosurgery, and paediatric neurosurgery. The question is, where does this stop?

“Considering Morriston hospital’s geography, specialties and catchment area it is ideally placed to be developed as a regional centre of medical excellence, but the Welsh Government needs to develop a clear vision for the hospital.

“Unless it does this, it risks undermining key projects such as the City Deal and the ARCH programme which both recognise the importance of health research and innovation as future economic drivers for the region.

“Only by having high-quality and challenging specialist services will Swansea and South West Wales ever be able to attract the very best medical staff and researchers.”

Warning of a possible loss of key services from Wales, Dr. Lloyd stated:

“Previous UK-wide reviews of certain specialties have seen services which were based in Swansea, lost to Cardiff and were then lost to Bristol, and the reason for this was that Cardiff and Bristol were so close together geographically.

“Paediatric cardiac surgery for example was lost from Morriston to Cardiff, and then in a subsequent UK-wide review was lost from Cardiff to Bristol. We must mitigate the risk of this type of domino effect.

“We also currently send a number of neonatal cases from South Wales to Bristol. We need to be strengthening the high-level specialisms here in Wales – and that means not just in Cardiff, but in other parts of Wales such as Morriston.

“There are currently 27 Major Trauma Centres in England, with just one being proposed in Wales – what is to say that a subsequent UK review of trauma services will not recommend centralising in Bristol – as happened in the case of paediatric cardiac surgery?

“This matter is hugely important and it needs in-depth scrutiny. The concerns of people in South West Wales, and other parts of Wales, need to be heard.

“We need an open debate around these issues, and the long-term future of hospitals such as Morriston and other regions of Wales. There is life beyond Cardiff.”

You can watch the assembly debate from 7 o'clock by clicking here.