Morriston Hospital’s status as a regional centre of excellence under attack again

The Labour Party in Wales are not interested in protecting and developing Morriston Hospital as a regional centre of excellence.

That is the claim by Plaid Cymru AM Dr. Dai Lloyd following revelations that Labour AM Julie Morgan is opposing the establishment of a South Wales Thoracic Surgery Centre at Morriston Hospital.

A public consultation has been launched which proposes centralising thoracic surgery at Morriston Hospital in Swansea, as opposed to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, in a bid to improve care for patients across the region.

It would make it one of the largest thoracic surgery centres in the UK and a "centre of excellence" for the area.

But there is now opposition to these plans from Labour politicians and the medical community in Cardiff, who claim such a centre should be based at the new major trauma centre planned for the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) site.

Dr. Lloyd stated:

“It is clear to me that certain medics and politicians will not rest until all major specialties and services are based in Cardiff.

“What we have seen over recent decades is an attempt to strip Morriston Hospital, and the South West Wales region of its major specialties. The most recent example of course, was the decision to establish South Wales’ Major Trauma Centre in Cardiff, as opposed to the more geographically equitable, Morriston Hospital.

“Thoracic surgery is the latest in a long line of services which has seen Swansea go up against Cardiff, and time after time Swansea has lost out.

“However, in this instance, an Independent Panel of doctors and nurses have looked at the service and concluded that Morriston is best placed.

“They have looked at issues such as the co-location with the Major Trauma Centre and they feel that that is not essential. Medics and Labour politicians in our capital city need to recognise that Wales does not end in Cardiff.”

The Plaid AM added:

“As far as I am concerned the Labour Party in Wales is not interested in protecting and developing Morriston Hospital as a regional centre of excellence.

“I have called on the Welsh Government to set out their long-term vision for Morriston Hospital, but time and time again, they have failed to do so.

“Let’s be clear - the future of Morriston Hospital as a regional centre of excellence is under threat. Following on from losing neurosurgery and paediatric neurosurgery services at Morriston Hospital, and more recently the battle for the Major Trauma Centre, people in South West Wales are understandably concerned at centralisation of key health services in Cardiff.

“We know that Morriston is better located geographically to deliver specialist services given its central location for South, Mid and West Wales. It is high time that Labour politicians in Cardiff, and the Labour Welsh Government accepted that reality, and stopped trying to centralise everything in Cardiff.”