A POLITICIAN has taken aim at the Welsh Government for axing a community hospital in Prestatyn, back in 2013. 

Llyr Gruffydd, MS, who represents North Wales in the Senedd, told Health Minister Eluned Morgan that the controversial closure of a network of community hospitals is “contributing” to the acute crisis in the NHS.

In September 2015, Prestatyn Community Hospital, better known as Chatsworth House, was demolished. The original use for the Woodland Park site was a preparatory school and this use was retained up to the 1940s.

The premises then became a maternity hospital. From 1973, it was used as a
community hospital until 2013 when it closed.

Speaking in the Senedd, Mr Gruffydd criticised the Welsh Government for closing community hospitals in Flint, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Prestatyn, and Llangollen and argued that it was now trying to “recreate and rebuild” capacity that it had lost.

Mr Gruffydd said: "You say in your statement, Minister, that 12 per cent of bed capacity in the NHS is now full as a result of delayed discharges, and in response to that, of course, you say that you've secured an additional 500 community beds for step-down care. Clearly, that is to be welcomed. It would be good to hear where they are.

"As a Member in North Wales, I would be interested in hearing how many of those are in North Wales. But of course, we had a network of community hospitals that used to provide exactly this step-down service across Wales. That capacity was lost - the capacity that you are now trying to recreate and rebuild—when community hospitals were closed in Flint, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Prestatyn, Llangollen, and so on.

"A number of us warned you at the time that you would regret doing that, because there's always a need for that step-down provision within the system, or - as we're currently seeing - the system is going to have blockages and we're going to end up with a situation where 12 per cent of the bed capacity has suffered as a result of delayed discharges. So, do you accept that it was a mistake to close those community hospitals, particularly those across North Wales? Do you regret that that happened? Because there's no doubt that that's contributing at least a little to the crisis that general hospitals are now facing."

RELATED STORIES

Ms Morgan responded: "I'm happy to give you a list of where we found that capacity. The capacity of course is reliant on our ability to collaborate with local authorities in the area, and that's where we've been working with them closely, as well as with the NHS in those areas, too.

"When it comes to step-down facilities, I do think that generally speaking, people prefer to get the care that they need in their homes, and that's the direction of travel. We must also bear in mind that when it comes to community hospitals, they are very expensive to run. That's something that I've learnt. And if you look at how many hospitals we have in Wales in relation to our population, then I think it's important that we understand that we are in a situation where it is very expensive for us to run hospitals, and that is why stepping into our communities is something that we're trying to get the NHS to do, to provide far more within communities and in people's homes, where most people want to access that care."

In December 2022, Ms Morgan and WLGA leader Andrew Morgan said there would be more than 500 extra step-down beds and community care packages for Wales this winter, to help people get care closer to home and free up hospital beds.

The ‘Step Down’ service supports people to return to their communities when they no longer need treatment in hospital but may require more time, support, and specialist care. 

An extra 508 beds and community care packages were confirmed by health boards and local authorities. The Welsh Government said "many more" are currently being negotiated.

The funding is being provided from the Welsh Government’s Regional Integration Fund and local authorities and health boards’ own resources.