(Title Image: © Copyright Eric Jones and licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Licence)
BBC Wales has reported that a member of Betsi Cadwaladr Community Health Council, Bethan Russell Williams, resigned over a decision to centralise emergency vascular (circulatory system) services at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, resulting in Bangor’s Ysbyty Gwynedd losing them.
She told BBC Wales that the decision ran contrary to a decision which recommended vascular services be retained in Gwynedd.
The Welsh Government said there had been “confusion” over a statement to patients in March 2018, which said that only diabetes-related and non-arterial emergency cases would still be seen at Ysbyty Gwynedd. The health board are also reported to have accepted that the wording of the letter could’ve been clearer.
Betsi Cadwaladr health board said: “Our current service is too stretched, individual hospitals cannot provide 24/7 emergency vascular care, so out-of-hours it is provided at either Ysbyty Gwynedd or Wrexham Maelor Hospital on an alternating basis. If patients are too unwell to travel, the on-call surgeon travels to them. This would continue to be the case with the new service.”