Gorseinon Hospital bosses make personal pledge to councillors: ‘We are not closing this hospital’

Chair Jan Williams and Chief Executive Abi Harris attended a meeting at the hospital itself to face councillors directly, following months of worry sparked by the temporary transfer of inpatient beds to Singleton Hospital and the appearance of metal security plates on the West Ward windows.

The beds were moved to Singleton in October last year over patient safety concerns, and were supposed to return by 31 March. That deadline has now been pushed back to 30 September — because, the health board says, the safety work wasn’t finished in time to bring patients back safely.

The security plates caused particular alarm in the community. The health board says they were put up after thieves broke into a disused bungalow at the back of the hospital and stole copper piping. South Wales Police were called, and a person was subsequently arrested and charged. The plates will come down, the health board says, once window latches are secured and security cameras are installed.

Speaking after the meeting, Jan Williams and Abi Harris said: “We have a number of services delivered from the hospital which are looking for additional space to ensure they can see as many patients as possible — including the pacemaker and heart failure clinics. We are supporting those services to make use of the space freed up in the ward area on a temporary basis.”

They also revealed that pacemaker and heart failure clinics are looking to expand into the space freed up by the ward closure on a temporary basis — a sign, the health board says, of the building’s continued use rather than a wind-down.

Gorseinon Hospital continues to operate a long list of services that are completely unaffected by the bed transfer. These include musculoskeletal physiotherapy, respiratory and cardiology clinics including the Heart Failure Clinic for patients across the whole of Swansea Bay, phlebotomy, district nursing, school nursing, health visiting, Parkinson’s nurses, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and community bladder and bowel health teams.

The health board says the longer-term future of the hospital will be decided through its wider clinical services review — Transforming for the Future — which looks at how all services can best be delivered. Hospital bosses added that a series of public listening events is planned, starting in Gorseinon, to give local people a say in what happens next.

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Health board insists Gorseinon Hospital will not close as councillors press case for inpatient services
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Health board confirms temporary transfer of Gorseinon Hospital inpatient beds to Singleton
How it started — and what the health board said when the beds were first moved.

Health board considers moving all inpatient beds from Gorseinon Hospital to Singleton
The story from the very beginning.

Health Board confirms temporary transfer of Gorseinon Hospital inpatient beds to Singleton

The decision, taken at the Board’s monthly meeting on Thursday 25 September, follows weeks of speculation and community concern after Swansea Bay News first revealed the proposals earlier this month.

Safety concerns drive decision

The Health Board said the move was necessary after repeated warnings about staffing levels on Gorseinon’s 30‑bed West Ward, where up to half of shifts were being covered by agency or temporary staff. Senior clinicians, including the Executive Director of Nursing and consultant geriatricians, advised that the situation posed too many risks to patient safety to continue.

By consolidating the beds at Singleton, the Board says staff will be able to support one another more effectively, with access to wider nursing, therapy and medical teams as well as stronger leadership capacity.

Gorseinon Hospital “not closing”

The announcement comes after councillors and local campaigners pressed the case for inpatient services to remain in Gorseinon. The Health Board has again stressed that the hospital itself is not closing, and that a wide range of services will continue on site.

These include musculoskeletal physiotherapy, respiratory and cardiology clinics, the Heart Failure Clinic, community nursing teams, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, phlebotomy, Parkinson’s nurses and health visiting services.

A spokesperson said: “At all times during the discussion on the temporary relocation of the inpatient ward, the ongoing important role of Gorseinon Hospital was emphasised and a commitment made to its long‑term future as a vibrant and important healthcare hub.”

Community engagement promised

The Board has committed to holding a dedicated engagement event in Gorseinon in the New Year as part of its wider Clinical Services Plan. This will give local people the chance to feed into decisions about the long‑term shape of services across Swansea Bay.

In the meantime, discussions are taking place with patients and families affected by the transfer, as well as with staff whose roles will move to Singleton. The transfer is expected to take effect from 1 October.

Councillors vow to keep up pressure

Local councillors, who met with Health Board leaders earlier this month, said they welcomed assurances that Gorseinon Hospital will remain open but would continue to push for inpatient services to return. A petition calling for services to be protected has already attracted hundreds of signatures.

Related articles

• Health board considers moving all inpatient beds from Gorseinon Hospital to Singleton

  Initial proposals revealed plans to transfer “step‑down” beds to Singleton due to staffing pressures.

• Health Board insists Gorseinon Hospital will not close as councillors press case for in‑patient services

  Local councillors sought assurances after concerns grew over the hospital’s future role.

• Health Board update on transfer of inpatient beds from Gorseinon to Singleton

  Board confirms temporary relocation of beds from 1 October, citing patient safety concerns.

#cardiologyClinic #communityNursing #Gorseinon #GorseinonHospital #HeartFailureClinic #hospitalSafety #musculoskeletalPhysiotherapy #occupationalTherapy #ParkinsonS #Phlebotomy #respiratoryClinic #SingletonHospital #speechAndLanguageTherapy #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard #wardClosure

Health Board insists Gorseinon Hospital will not close as councillors press case for in‑patient services

The Health Board says the move — first reported by Swansea Bay News earlier this week — is being considered due to staffing pressures on the hospital’s in‑patient ward. The beds, known as “step‑down” beds, are used by patients who no longer need acute hospital care but are not yet ready to return home, and serve people from across the Health Board area, not just Gorseinon.

The Health Board says the proposal — first reported by Swansea Bay News earlier this week — is in response to “serious concerns around the staffing of the 30‑bed ward and how it could impact on patient safety going forwards.”

In a detailed statement, it said:

“The West Ward at Gorseinon provides 30 ‘step down’ beds that enable patients to bridge the gap between hospital care and home. The beds serve a much wider population than the immediate Gorseinon area – patients from across the entire Swansea area as well as some from the Neath Port Talbot area are cared for there.

Apart from the West Ward, Gorseinon Hospital is also home to a range of other services including outpatient, blood test and community services. These will not be affected by the temporary closure – Gorseinon Hospital will remain an important part of the Swansea Bay University Health Board estate.

High levels of staff sickness and other availability issues have resulted in excessively high usage of agency and temporary staff to fill gaps on shifts, sometimes as much as 50% of the total staffing. This hinders good team working and places additional pressure on substantive staff who often have to supervise and support the agency and temporary workers.

A number of concerns have been raised by staff from a range of professional disciplines at Gorseinon regarding the West Ward and these concerns continue to be raised. While measures have been taken to address the issues raised, we are clear that they have not had the impact needed.

This is not considered sustainable and the clinical advice the Board has received… is that this raises serious, red flag safety concerns that need to be addressed. That’s why plans are currently being put in place to pre‑empt safety related incidents through the transfer of the 30 beds to Singleton on a temporary basis from 1 October.

Temporarily transferring the West Ward to Singleton and consolidating the relevant staff there will allow teams to support one another and enable the Health Board to manage staffing pressures more effectively, reducing our dependency on agency staff.

Transferring the beds will also ensure that staff can access wider nursing, therapy and medical support at Singleton as well as leadership capacity.

Should the temporary transfer of the West Ward beds proceed, the Health Board will seek to use the freed‑up space at Gorseinon for other NHS healthcare purposes.

Longer term, the Health Board will engage with the public on the best way of providing the ‘step down’ service as part of the development of its Clinical Services Plan… Engagement… will include talking with the public… about how we make sure that the Hospital remains a vibrant centre focused on the healthcare of our local population – that is our entire focus.

No other non‑Health Board purposes are being considered for the West Ward at Gorseinon in the short, medium or long term and no requests have been received. For the avoidance of doubt, false rumours circulating online that the West Ward will be repurposed to house asylum seekers are entirely baseless and completely untrue.”

Councillors meet Health Board

Gorseinon councillors Andrew Stevens, Jan Curtice and Nicola Matthews met yesterday with Health Board chair Emma Woollett and senior staff, alongside fellow councillors Kelly Roberts, Adam Davis and Robert Smith, to discuss the hospital’s future.

In a joint statement, they said they had been assured there were no plans to close the hospital, but expressed frustration at only learning of the proposals via social media — something the Health Board apologised for.

“While temporary changes to the in‑patient ward are being proposed, the Health Board is looking at potential expansion of other services,” they said. “We as councillors want Gorseinon Hospital to be used for in‑patient as well as out‑patient services and will continue to make this case forcefully. They envision a strong, robust future for Gorseinon Hospital and recognise its historic and community importance.”

The councillors stressed the decision is not one for the local authority, but pledged to remain “fully committed” to the hospital and to push for it to “go from strength to strength”.

Petition launched

A petition calling for services at Gorseinon Hospital to be protected has so far attracted 876 signatures. The petition, titled Save Services at Gorseinon Hospital, can be found on Change.org.

Decision expected this month

The Health Board says it is putting plans in place for the possible transfer of beds and will make a final decision later this month. In the meantime, all other services at Gorseinon Hospital will continue as normal.

#CllrAndrewStevens #CllrJanCurtice #CllrNicolaMatthews #Gorseinon #GorseinonHospital #SwanseaBayNHS

Health board considers moving all inpatient beds from Gorseinon Hospital to Singleton

The beds, described as “step down” beds, are used by patients who no longer need acute hospital care but are not yet ready to return home. They serve people from across the health board area, not just the immediate Gorseinon community.

The health board says the move would allow staff to work more closely together and help manage staffing shortages more effectively. It stressed that other services based at Gorseinon Hospital would not be affected.

A final decision is expected later this month.

A Swansea Bay University Health Board spokesperson said:

“As a result of patient safety concerns relating to staffing pressures at our inpatient ward at Gorseinon Hospital, we are currently considering proposals to transfer the inpatient beds temporarily to vacant space at Singleton Hospital.

The beds are ‘step down’ beds that enable patients to bridge the gap between hospital care and home and they serve a much wider population than the immediate area.

Plans are currently being put in place for the transfer of the beds and the health board will make a final decision later this month.

Consolidating at Singleton will allow teams to support one another and enable us to manage staffing pressures more effectively. Transferring the beds will also ensure that staff can access wider support and leadership at Singleton.

Gorseinon is home to other services as well as the inpatient ward – these will not be affected.”

The proposals have prompted concern among some staff, who say they were informed of the potential changes at a meeting earlier this week.

#Gorseinon #GorseinonHospital #SingletonHospital #stepDownBeds #SwanseaBayNHS