Casualty review at city hospital

The casualty department at Singleton does not treat serious cases.

Current services at the minor casualty unit at Swansea's Singleton Hospital are neither "safe or sustainable" according to doctors and managers.

The unit has been forced to close at various times, particularly at night, because no doctor was available.

The Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University NHS Trust is reviewing options for its future running, possibly by GPs.

Serious and emergency cases are already directed straight to Morriston Hospital's A&E department.

The trust said it was committed to maintaining a service at Singleton, in the west of the city.

One option for the unit is GPs working with specialist casualty nurses as the Swansea GP out-of-hours service is already based there.

Trust assistant chief executive Calum Campbell said talks were now taking place with the Local Health Board and other parties.

Patients have arrived expecting the department to be open and find it unable to deal with their condition Andy MacNab, A&E consultant

"I am keen to stress that we are committed to providing a service at Singleton, and I have reiterated this at all our meetings and conversations with our partners.

"However, through our discussions, and the feedback we've received from our clinical staff, it is clear that the current service is not safe and sustainable as it stands.

"We are regularly left with no choice but to close the unit at various times, particularly at night, because no doctor is available, and that situation cannot be allowed to continue indefinitely.

"One option being looked at is working with the GPs to provide a safe, effective and regular service at Singleton. Nevertheless, nothing has been decided yet."

A&E consultant Andy MacNab said the problem of recruiting middle-grade doctors for minor casualty departments was not unique to to Swansea.

Locums

"There has been difficulty recruiting appropriately skilled doctors to substantive posts at Singleton for some time.

"The department has been increasingly dependent on locums, despite an increase in the amount of consultant input and support.

"The intermittent, unpredictable closure of the Singleton service, which is happening increasingly often, is not in the best interest of patient safety.

"Patients have arrived expecting the department to be open and find it unable to deal with their condition."