Local Assembly Member Paul Davies recently visited Glangwili hospital’s special care baby unit to see its facilities for expectant mothers. Since the closure of the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush hospital, families across Pembrokeshire now have to travel to Glangwili hospital in Carmarthen to receive these services.

Mr Davies said, “It was important for me to get a full grasp of the facilities at Glangwili hospital, to see what services expectant mothers in my constituency now receive. Despite the hard work of the staff on the ward, the facilities at Glangwili are inadequate and in clear need of improvement. Not only are mothers in my constituency travelling further for treatment, the standards of these services are simply not up to scratch and therefore could put lives at risk.”

“Whilst I understand that the health board plans to make the ward more suitable during the phase 2 planned development, that could take a considerable amount of time and does nothing to address the problem for parents currently using – or about to use those facilities. The health board must ensure that the facilities are first-class so that mothers across Pembrokeshire have access to the facilities that they need.”

“Quite simply, the local health board’s reconfiguration plans should not have been put in place until the appropriate developments were made. Sadly, the Welsh Government pushed ahead with the closure of the Special Care Baby Unit at Withybush hospital, without ensuring an acceptable standard of service at Glangwili – and this could put lives at risk in the process.”

“A review into the changes is of course currently taking place and I hope that it will prove that the changes have been detrimental to the people of Pembrokeshire. I hope therefore that the review will come to the conclusion that the Special Care Baby Unit should be reintroduced at Withybush hospital.