Suspended emergency services to restart at Royal Glamorgan as health board opens field hospital
Suspended emergency services and routine procedures have started to resume at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital after temporary restrictions were brought in to cope with a coronavirus outbreak.
The decision was made to restart suspended services following the opening of Ysbyty’r Seren, the field hospital in Bridgend - which will take pressure off The Royal Glamorgan.
The field hospital was due to open last week but was not ready to take patients in time.
Latest figures released by the health board show that the hospital in Llantrisant has 155 confirmed cases and 38 deaths in relation to the outbreak - 17 of those deaths occurred over the past week.
In response to the outbreak, many routine procedures were postponed and adult emergency admissions were diverted to other hospitals.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board announced that patients who phone 999 and need emergency hospital treatment will now be taken to the Royal Glamorgan if they are in the local area.
The hospital is now taking GP emergency referrals and anyone who self-presents at the site and needs an emergency admission.
Surgical and other planned procedures are also being restarted in a phased approach.
A temporary reduction in services was introduced on September 30 in order to help manage the virus outbreak.
The changes that were put in place were:
Elective surgery was suspended - apart from some urgent cancer cases.
Adult emergency hospital admissions were diverted to other sites. Welsh Ambulance Service patients were taken to alternative sites too.
The health board said it has "regularly reviewed these measures" and is now able to "safely" lift the restrictions.
Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB Medical Director, Nick Lyons, said: "Patient safety always has been of utmost importance in making these changes, and safety will continue to remain at the centre of our planning, as we lift restrictions at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital.
"Ysbyty’r Seren takes the pressures off the other acute sites that allow us to do other activity. Our staff have been working for months in challenging and difficult circumstances and we’re very proud of all who rise to the challenge, day after day."
Non-covid patients are being transferred to Ysbyty’r Seren from The Royal Glamorgan, Prince Charles and Princess of Wales hospitals - where coronavirus outbreaks have also been declared.