Raac crisis: Inside Withybush Hospital where wards are shut and props hold cracked ceilings up

• 'It's been like trying to rebuild an aeroplane while it's in the air'

Patients at a hospital in west Wales have been in danger "for many, many years", a health board boss has told ITV News, following the discovery of a concrete at risk of collapse.

It comes after two schools on Anglesey and a popular music and theatre venue in Cardiff suddenly closed after Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (Raac) was found.

A major internal incident was declared at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, in August following a renewed investigation into the presence of Raac.

Its existence there has been known about since 2019, when the Welsh Government told all health boards to look for it in their hospitals.

But Hywel Dda University Health Board's chief executive said it is only a second, expert survey in May 2023 that revealed the need to take urgent safety measures.

When asked whether patients were in danger prior to action being taken in May, Steve Moore said: "I think in hindsight the truth is that they were.

"I think the issue is that nobody knew, including the experts in these sorts of issues - the structural engineers.

"I'm very glad that we are now at the point where they are safe, but there would've been risks that we had no idea about going back many, many years, perhaps to the point where the hospital was built."

Large areas of Raac have also been identified at Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, with smaller areas found at a plant room at Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth.

• The propping required in this ward, which usually has six beds, is so great that it is impossible to reopen, as estates manager Malcolm Arnold explains

Around 60% of beds were initially affected at Withybush, which serves a population of more than 120,000.

It recently treated more than a dozen injured bus passengers after a fatal collision near the Cleddau Bridge in Pembroke Dock.

The hospital faces even higher demand at this time of year, when hundreds of thousands of tourists flock to Pembrokeshire.

Six wards have been closed off and a large number of patients and staff moved to South Pembrokeshire Hospital in Pembroke Dock.

The treatment of stroke, oncology and haematology patients, patients suffering with heart conditions and those receiving palliative care has been moved to alternative areas at Withybush.

• 'It has the potential of collapsing at any time'

The health board estimates it will take almost £13 million just to make short-term repairs, which has been provided by the Welsh Government.

Malcolm Arnold, the health board's estates manager for Pembrokeshire, described the work as a "huge challenge" but feels confident that areas reopened to the public are now safe.

"There's no prediction of the cracking happening, it has the potential of collapsing at any time effectively.

"Raac is very, very lightweight, it's very porous, it's a challenging material.

"Everything's been inspected and surveyed by structural engineers and we have ongoing weekly inspections of the props, so we're happy that all the environments that are open are safe to be open."

More than 150 steel and timber props have since been erected across the site, but a number of departments remain closed to the public and cracking and crumbling concrete is visible in many areas.

Ward sister Zoe Griffiths, who leads the care of frail patients, has been forced to South Pembrokeshire Hospital, where more than 60 beds have been relocated.

"It was quite a challenge during those few weeks to ensure that I cleared my ward," she said.

"I had a full ward of patients and I could take at that time 14 patients with me, and knowing that I had to try my best to discharge the remaining number of patients I had on the ward felt like a mission.

"But I've got to say it was a fantastic team effort during that time."

She added that some patients have expressed concern over the move.

"You would get the questions, 'I don't want to go there', but it's just having that chat with them and reassuring them about what we would be doing there and it's the same care, just in a different setting."

Patients have been told to continue attending appointments and accessing services as normal unless notified otherwise.

• Lead physiotherapist Tim Griffiths tells health reporter Katie Fenton what it has been like working surrounded by props and cracked ceilings

Tim Griffiths, lead physiotherapist for acute and community services in Pembrokeshire, said it was "scary" to be working under cracking ceilings.

"It was scary initially because we don't understand the estates side of it, we just know there's a problem.

"It's a relief that the health board did the right thing in shutting the area and getting us out.

"It's reassuring that things are being put in place now, the props may not be sightly, but at least we know it's been assessed properly and it's safe to come back and do the job again."

But Mr Griffiths said the additional pressure has had an impact on the quality of care.

"It certainly hasn't made it any easier, so pressure on the waiting list, people are waiting to come in here to this department, so they obviously struggle to get those appointments through.

"We've lacked space to see those patients so we can't see as many a day, it's much more difficult to provide a good standard of therapy at the moment."

Mr Moore said making the hospital safe has been like "trying to rebuild an aeroplane while it's in the air" and praised staff for the way they have dealt with the situation.

"I would also like to call out our amazing kitchen and domestic staff," he said.

"They often don't get talked about but within a space of a week they've been able to completely change the way they work.

"So it's not just the nurses, doctors and therapists who have all done fantastically, every part of this hospital that has really pulled together."

The health board hopes it will be able to reopen three wards by Christmas, with the remaining three being completed by April.

It estimates a need for additional funding to make long-term repairs.

Construction of Withybush Hospital started in 1973 and was completed in 1978, when the use of Raac was widespread.

Mr Moore added that it has further highlighted the need for a new hospital.

On Thursday, a report on a consultation about proposals for a new urgent and emergency care hospital on three potential sites will be considered by the health board.

Last year it submitted plans to the Welsh Government which, if successful, could result in around £1.3 billion investment into health and care in mid and west Wales.

Mr Moore said: "We've had a plan for some time now that we've been in discussion with Welsh Government about, building a new hospital on a new site somewhere between Haverfordwest and Carmarthen.

"But this kind of event and the age of these hospitals just further underlines that I would really like to make progress on that as quickly as possible."

In England, 19 NHS hospitals and health settings have been identified as being affected, with seven of those built almost exclusively of Raac.

While enhanced surveys are being carried out across NHS Wales estates, the Welsh Government has said it does not anticipate the need for repairs at other hospitals.

Local authorities in Wales are also assessing Raac in schools and colleges.

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