Hospital reopens all wards affected by RAAC faulty concrete

Six of the Pembrokeshire hospital’s 12 wards were closed last summer after a significant amount of Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) planks were found in the hospital building.

Hywel Dda University Health Board declared an internal major incident in order to identify the scale and impact of RAAC on the site and carry out urgent survey and repair work.

As well as the six wards, areas on the ground floor and kitchen, including outpatients and clinic rooms were also closed.

The health board have said that Wards 7, 9 and 12 were reopened at Christmas; Ward 11 was back up and running in January while Ward 10 was re-opened earlier this month. Work came to an end on Ward 8 – the last ward to re-open – last week.

One of the services most seriously affected by the ongoing RAAC survey and repair work has been elective inpatient surgery, but with the re-opening of all wards, Hywel Dda say this will now be introduced back to the hospital.

Hywel Dda say that there is however, still some extensive work to be done on the Ground Floor at Withybush including at Outpatient Departments A and B and the Physiotherapy Department which are currently in use and temporarily fully supported with props and safe to operate in.

There is likely to be disruption when these areas are closed.

The health board has admitted that RAAC will continue to be an issue at Withybush Hospital, with repair work continuing throughout this year. There is also an ongoing programme of regular survey work to monitor the condition of the RAAC, which will cause some disruption from time to time.

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Director of Operations Andrew Carrurthers said: “We are very pleased that the wards which were closed while we undertook essential repair work to the RAAC concrete planks are now operating as normal.

“And while there is still much work to do to manage the survey and repair work resulting from the discovery of RAAC concrete, we are now in a much better place than we found ourselves this time last year.

“This has been a challenging time for staff who have had to adapt very quickly to a fast-changing situation. This is on top of a difficult winter which has seen Emergency Departments (A&E) at all our hospitals having to cope under enormous pressures. We hope the reopening of the wards at Withybush will relieve some of this pressure.

“Our staff have shown incredible teamwork and resilience during a very difficult time, so I would like to thank them for their support. Thanks also to our patients and members of the public who have been affected by the ongoing work. Some have had to be treated at alternative locations within the health board area, so my thanks to them for their patience and understanding.

“The internal major incident declared at Withybush Hospital was brought to an end in January, but survey and repair work will continue until Spring 2025, so there is some way to go before Withybush hospital returns to a normal service. We will continue to engage with our staff, patients and the public and keep them informed of the latest developments.”

(Lead image: Hywel Dda NHS)

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