Llanelli’s hospice has been running with just four beds since 2023, the health board has confirmed.
The figure has emerged days after the chairman of the Tŷ Bryngwyn Hospice Trust stood on the Ffwrnes stage and told a full house of a plan to double the number of beds from seven to 14.
Hywel Dda University Health Board, which runs the unit at Prince Philip Hospital, says it “remains committed to increasing capacity”. It gives no date and no number.
Before any increase, it says, “we need to be confident that services can continue to be delivered safely and sustainably”.
Why Tŷ Bryngwyn has only four beds open
Peter Skitt, the health board’s clinical care group service director for community and integrated medicine, said the cut followed a fire risk assessment in 2023 and a safe staffing review.
Together they found that staffing levels at the unit “were sufficient to safely evacuate a maximum of four patients in the event of an emergency”.
“Therefore, the number of operational beds was limited to four to protect the safety of both patients and staff,” he said.
Nurses are one half of the problem. Doctors are the other.
Mr Skitt said the board’s specialist palliative care consultants are reviewing whether more beds “could be supported and sustained from our medical workforce”.
“While consultant staffing levels remain unchanged from when more beds were previously operational, demand for specialist palliative care services has increased,” he said.
The 14-bed plan, announced from the Ffwrnes stage
Trust chairman David Craddock set out the ambition during the interval of Saturday’s Bar Hounds and Friends concert, according to the evening’s compere, Robert Lloyd. He also paid tribute to the hospice’s staff and to the people who raise money for it.
We have asked the trust what the plan involves, what it would cost and how long it would take. It has not yet responded.
We also asked the health board whether 14 beds is an agreed plan, a proposal under consideration or a fundraising ambition. Its statement does not say.
It does say a new management group is being set up with the trustees “to provide oversight of the partnership” between its palliative care services and the trust’s fundraising committee.
Mr Skitt added: “We would also like to acknowledge the significant contribution of the Tŷ Bryngwyn Hospice Trust Fundraising Committee, whose continued dedication and support make a real difference to our palliative care services.”
A full house for the hospice
The concert marked ten years of The Bar Hounds, with every performer giving their time for free.
Three young bands from the Llanelli School of Music and Drama opened the night, with players aged from eight to 17. Two of the bands had only formed eight weeks earlier. Burry Port singer-songwriter Brook Fox followed, along with the Hospital Notes Choir, made up of current and retired health, care and emergency services staff.
The total raised has not yet been announced.
It is a hospice the town holds close. Last Christmas, its staff brought the celebrations forward by more than a week so that a patient from Llandybie could spend the day with her family.
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