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Hospital ward closure 'immoral', families say

BBC Janet is smiling at the camera. She has shoulder-length dark hair which is being caught in the wind, and is wearing a navy jacket with a pink top underneath and pearl earrings. In the background there is a road and behind that shrubs and Ysbyty Tywyn, which is a grey building. BBC
Janet Maher, whose father died at the hospital, says the closure of the ward is "sad, cruel and immoral"
Liam Evans
Newyddion S4C
Miriam Hide
BBC News

The failure to recruit NHS staff in a rural part of Wales is having a "cruel and immoral effect" on patients, families have warned.

The Dyfi Ward at Ysbyty Tywyn in the south of Gwynedd closed temporarily two years ago but the health board said it still cannot get enough staff to safely reopen it.

Family members said they now must travel long distances to visit loved ones, including journeys of up to two hours to Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said it had faced challenges in recruiting and maintaining staffing levels but would "rethink" health care in the area.

Sian Lewis, whose father died less than three weeks ago, said he spent his final weeks being moved between hospitals far from home because there was no care available for him in Tywyn.

"It's been awful, he wasn't able to come back to Tywyn at all," Ms Lewis told BBC-produced Newyddion S4C.

"I'm very sad and angry." She added: "My mum is 91 and she couldn't just go and see him, she had to rely on us and friends to take her there."

Lisa and Sian both stand on the side of the road. The woman on the left has long fair hair blowing in the wind and is wearing a fleece with different shades of pink on it. The second woman has short grey hair and is wearing a black down jacket. A field of grass can be seen on the right-hand side.
Lisa Markham and Sian Lewis both say they are "angry" about the ward's closure

Lisa Markham, who lost her father six years ago when the inpatient ward at Ysbyty Tywyn was open, said she felt lucky her father was able to spend his final days close to family and in his own community.

"I look back with gratefulness and thanks... my [grandparents] and then my dad had amazing care here as they died.

"We, his children and grandchildren, could come to visit him, and it was an amazing time where he could just say goodbye to us and we to him."

She added: "It makes you angry when you see what Sian has had to go through because her father was so far away."

Campaigners said the long distances were made more inaccessible due to limited and unreliable public transport in the area.

They said this meant people were missing vital time with family during their final days.

Janet Maher's father died on the Dyfi Ward just six months before its closure and said having care in this rural part of Wales was "invaluable".

"It's so sad, cruel and immoral that they haven't opened the ward.

"The love and care they showed my father... he died after two weeks on the ward, and we were just so grateful for the care he received."

She added: "Everyone has the right to have that care like he did."

A general view of Ysbyty Tywyn. A blue sign in the foreground reads 'Canolfen Iechyd, health centre'. The building is grey with an entrance porch in view and a large arch-shaped window on the right-hand side.
Betsi Cadwaladr health board says it will "rethink" health care in the area

Betsi Cadwaladr said a shortage of staff led to the closure of the ward two years ago, but it was expected to reopen.

Health board chair Dyfed Edwards said a major campaign to recruit locally, nationally and internationally had not succeeded.

Mr Edwards highlighted new community scheme Tuag Adref which ensures care at home and the minor injuries unit at the hospital which was open five days a week.

He said Betsi Cadwaladr had no intention to close the ward completely and that the board would be discussing the way forward for health services in the area in May.