LLANELLI: Town councillors to vote on motion demanding dedicated nurse for special school

Llanelli town councillors will vote this week on a motion demanding a dedicated full-time nurse for the town’s special school.

The motion, to be debated at Wednesday’s full council meeting, calls on Carmarthenshire County Council to secure the immediate appointment of a registered nurse based permanently at Ysgol Heol Goffa.

It is the latest development in a long-running campaign over nursing provision at the school, which Swansea Bay News has reported on since February.

The school caters for children with some of the most profound and complex medical needs, and campaigners say teachers and support staff are regularly left administering emergency medicine, tube feeding and seizure monitoring.

The motion has been brought by Lliedi councillor Shaun Greaney, a former governor of the school, and seconded by Labour group leader councillor David Darkin.

Councillor Greaney said parents had told him the authorities were taking unacceptable risks with their children’s safety.

He described the situation as a scandal that could have terrible consequences, and said staff at the school were doing their best but were not medically trained to the standard the children needed.

He said headteacher Ceri Hopkins had been campaigning for five years for a nurse to be based at the school, and warned against further “dilly-dallying” on what he called an inordinate delay.

The motion states that an Estyn recommendation in January, the intervention of the Children’s Commissioner for Wales, and the concerns of Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith all require a clear and time-bound response from Hywel Dda University Health Board.

It also asks for a clear update on what the health board intends to do, and when.

Councillor Greaney said the issue was about protecting children and their wellbeing rather than party politics, and urged councillors of all parties to back the school’s plea.

Councillor Darkin said the case for a dedicated, full-time nurse on site was clear, and described the situation as an injustice facing the school community.

The Children’s Commissioner for Wales, Rocio Cifuentes, intervened in the case in February, writing to Hywel Dda University Health Board to seek a meeting and pointing to the Estyn report’s finding that a dedicated school nurse was needed.

The health board has previously said it provides a dedicated school nurse to meet pupils’ universal health needs, and offers training to school staff.

Campaigners argue that this falls short of what is required for children with complex, life-limiting conditions, who they say need a permanent, on-site nurse.

A separate, long-running effort to replace the ageing school buildings has also been moving forward, with a new £35m Ysgol Heol Goffa due to open in 2029.

The motion will be debated at the full meeting of Llanelli Town Council on Wednesday.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER STEPS IN: Watchdog demands meeting with health board over special school nurse crisis
The Children’s Commissioner intervened in the nursing row in February.

‘Lives may be at risk’: Watchdog probe demanded over Llanelli special school nurse crisis
How the campaign over nursing provision at the school began.

LLANELLI: £35m new Ysgol Heol Goffa to open in 2029 after years of uncertainty
The separate effort to replace the school’s ageing buildings.

CHILDREN’S COMMISSIONER STEPS IN: Watchdog demands meeting with health board over special school nurse crisis

In a significant development, Rocio Cifuentes MBE has confirmed she will be writing to Hywel Dda University Health Board to “raise the issue and seek a meeting” regarding the lack of a dedicated, full-time nurse at Ysgol Heol Goffa.

The move comes just days after Swansea Bay News reported that campaigners, including parents and local councillors, had called for the commissioner to investigate, warning that “lives may be at risk” as teachers are forced to provide complex medical care to pupils with life-limiting conditions.

In a powerful statement, Ms Cifuentes said she had received correspondence raising “serious concerns” and understood the anxiety the situation was causing.

“I will be writing to Hywel Dda Health Board to raise the issue and seek a meeting. Estyn’s report clearly indicated the need for a dedicated school nurse so I hope that this issue can be addressed swiftly. I would also like to meet with the children, parents and staff affected at Ysgol Heol Goffa so that I can hear their views directly.”

The Commissioner’s intervention adds significant weight to the campaign, which has been backed by parents, school staff, and local politicians. Her statement directly references the Estyn inspection report which campaigners have pointed to as clear evidence that a full-time nurse is required.

Ms Cifuentes highlighted that the issue at the Llanelli special school is part of a wider, systemic problem across Wales.

“Children with complex and life-limiting medical needs have the right to feel safe and properly supported in school, and their best interests must always come first. Last year we published a report examining the experiences of children and young people with disabilities in Wales. Within it, we found that many parents feel schools do not always have access to the specialist knowledge and medical expertise required to fully support their children.”

She confirmed that her office has already been raising the issue with Welsh Government officials, asking them to “strengthen the role of health in meeting the needs of children who have Additional Learning Needs or who are disabled.”

As reported previously, parents and staff at the school have been calling for a full-time nurse for five years. Anxious parents said they were “horrified” to discover the provision was not in place, while Llanelli Town Councillor Shaun Greaney warned the authorities were playing “Russian roulette with pupils’ lives.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board previously stated that it provides a “dedicated school nurse to meet their universal health needs” and offers training to school staff.

Drawing a parallel with a previous successful intervention, the Commissioner noted her office’s involvement in securing a new, modern building for the school, which was approved in July 2025 after her office sought assurances that children’s voices were being heard.

She concluded with a message of optimism, stating: “I hope that we can reach a similarly positive conclusion for the children and young people at Ysgol Heol Goffa this time.”

‘Lives may be at risk’: Watchdog probe demanded over Llanelli special school nurse crisis

Teachers and teaching assistants at Ysgol Heol Goffa are being forced to give lifesaving and urgent medical aid to pupils because of the lack of an on-site nurse at all times, according to parents and staff.

Despite having training, campaigners say education staff are not fully qualified to treat vulnerable children with life-threatening and complex medical needs.

Anxious parent Hannah Coles, herself a qualified nurse, said:

“I fear not just for the life of my son, but for those of my friends’ children every day. Parents should not have to have such awful anxiety because they send their children to school.”

She said parents had been “horrified” to discover there is no full-time nurse on site.

“It came as a complete shock. We all assumed the nurse who calls in from time to time was full-time and based in school. That is what we need and are demanding from the Hywel Dda University Health Board,” said Hannah.

School headteacher Ceri Hopkins said she had been calling for a full-time nurse on-site for five years.

“The staff are not happy to be dealing with emergencies that could jeopardise the children. They do their best at all times, and will do whatever is required, but school staff should be teaching, not nursing.”

Now Llanelli Town councillor Shaun Greaney, who represents Lliedi ward where the school is located, has written to the Children’s Commissioner for Wales calling for her to ensure there is no future tragedy at the school, where more than a dozen children have life-limiting or severely complex medical conditions.

“What alarms and angers me is that these children could be condemned to an early death,” he said.

“That is why I have written to the Commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, who is the highest authority in Wales, urging her to bring much-needed pressure on Hywel Dda University Health Board to employ a full-time nurse at the school without delay,” said Councillor Greaney.

“The parents say they have been lucky to date that a child has not died but the authorities cannot keep playing Russian roulette with pupils’ lives. Should a preventable and foreseeable tragedy happen, I believe it would be their fault,” he added.

In her letter to the Commissioner, Hannah said:

“My son is tube fed and requires rescue medication for Dystonia. He is life limited and is medically complex. Every day I send him to school I put enormous trust in the systems meant to keep him safe.

“I want to sincerely thank Councillor Shaun Greaney for bringing this issue to your attention. Many of us as parents feel frightened and unheard, and we are grateful that someone has spoken up on behalf of our children.

“The staff at the school are compassionate, dedicated and do their absolute best. I cannot praise them highly enough. But they are not nurses. They are not medically qualified to deal with complex and potentially life-threatening emergencies.”

Llanelli MS Lee Waters has written to Lynn Neagle, Welsh Cabinet Secretary for Education, stating that there had been “limited senior engagement until very recently”.

He calls for her “support in raising the issue with Welsh Government officials and ensuring the necessary steps are taken to provide the school with the clinical support its pupils urgently require”.

He has also written to the chair of Hywel Dda, Dr Neil Wooding, expressing “deep concern” that Carmarthenshire County Council had been raising the lack of a full-time on-site nurse with the health authority for “several years”.

He says in the letter that the situation “warrants urgent attention and decisive action”.

In response, Hywel Dda University Health Board have said they are working with the school and county council to “understand the additional needs” of the school and staff following Estyn’s recommendations.

Sharon Daniel, the health board’s Director of Nursing, Quality & Patient Experience said:

“The health and wellbeing of all children and young people is fundamental to their ability to learn, thrive and reach their potential, and is a priority for the Health Board. We support the children and young people at Ysgol Heol Goffa with a dedicated school nurse to meet their universal health needs, and through the provision of training for staff at the school.

“The Health Board provides specialist support, ensuring each child and young person with healthcare needs can be cared for competently and confidently within the school environment.

“The Health Board has taken on board the recommendations made by Estyn to the school and Carmarthenshire County Council and is working to understand the additional needs of the school and the staff. Through continued partnership working and a shared commitment to improvement, the Health Board will support ongoing actions to strengthen provision and ensure the best possible outcomes for the pupils and staff at Ysgol Heol Goffa.”

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July 21, 2024