‘Risk to the safety of patients’ as concerns raised over maternity staff shortages at Royal Glamorgan Hospital

Maternity staff shortages at Royal Glamorgan Hospital are posing a ‘potential risk to the safety of patients’ according to Healthcare Inspectorate Wales (HIW).

The HIW held an unannounced inspection at Royal Glamorgan in October and found serious problems which warned of a potential risk to patient safety.

This was less than two weeks after Cwm Taf health board revealed it was reviewing the care of dozens of babies in the south-east Wales valleys, who had died or suffered "adverse outcomes".  

HIW found ‘significant’ maternity staff shortages continued even after an investigation was announced into the deaths of 26 babies.

Commenting on the situation at the hospital in Ynysmaerdy, Talbot Green, regional South Wales Central AM, Andrew RT Davies said:

“Despite previous assurances from Labour’s health minister that problems with maternity services at Cwm Taf health board had been addressed, it’s clear the reality on the ground at Royal Glamorgan couldn’t be more different from the Minister’s rhetoric in the chamber.

“Mothers across South Wales and the Valleys continue to be let down by failures in leadership and it’s clear that the Labour Welsh Government’s historical mismanagement and underfunding of our NHS is having disastrous consequences for patients.

“Previous assurances have not been worth the paper they’ve been written on and Vaughan Gething must get a grip on this situation immediately, ensuring resources are made available to turn this situation around at the health board as soon as possible.

“Labour have been running the NHS in Wales since 1999, but they are running it into the ground. We desperately need a change of approach to performance management if we are to secure the improvements that the people of South Wales deserve.”