Cardigan News
Hospital will have beds say health chiefs
10:30am Monday 20th February 2012
AN assurance that Cardigan’s new hospital will have in-patient beds has been given by health bosses this week.
Fears that the new facility, to be built at Bath-house, would have no beds were raised by county councillors when they met with Hywel Dda Health Board on Thursday.
Cllr Catrin Miles said: “People feel beds are being cut without consultation, it has happened in Cardigan Hospital recently.”
And Cllr Mark Cole said: “Community beds are important and Cardigan expects to have those beds in the new hospital. There is scope for community hospitals such as this to provide more services, which would take the strain off the bigger general hospitals.”
Health board chief executive Trevor Purt said: “There will always be beds in the new Cardigan hospital – they are absolutely necessary. The question is how the beds will be designated. I would expect there to be long stay, short stay, GP beds etc. But the debate to plan the detail of services is still to come.”
He added that the authority cannot always consult on operational decisions to cut bed spaces. “Recent bed cuts in Cardigan hospital have been driven by staff issues and lack of use,” he said.
“Bed numbers should not be used as a currency to gauge services,” he added.
Ceredigion director of the health board, Ian Bellngham, said he expected the new Cardigan project “to move forward in the very near future”.
Director of planning Tony Chambers confirmed that contracts have been exchanged on the land sale, but added: “There are still technical legal issues to be sorted out before the sale can be completed. We are 99 per cent there.”