DESPITE protests, petitions, and pressure from the public, special care baby services and overnight paediatric care look unlikely to return to Withybush Hospital.

In a full review published last week, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) maintained there was ‘no clinical sense’ in reversing the changes to women and children’s services in Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.

The independent report, commissioned by Health minister Mark Drakeford, has examined the situation one year on from the major shake-up of services in west Wales.

The College acknowledged that some families had ‘reported harrowing experiences due to additional travelling time and uncertainty about the need for transfers’, but said it saw no evidence of worsened outcomes in maternity or paediatric care as a direct result of the changes.

The report said there had been improved compliance with national and professional standards as a result, and although there was room for improvement in terms of staffing, the College believed there was a ‘strong future’ for a single service delivered across the two sites.

It went on to recommend that the current “safety net” of out-of-hours paediatric cover at Withybush be “phased out” by April 2016, providing alternative emergency arrangements were in place.

It also recommended a further 12-month extension to the dedicated ambulance, charged with transferring patients between Withybush and Glangwili, until March 2017.

Should the service be withdrawn in future, a ‘robust’ 24-hour paediatric ambulatory care unit at Withybush would be essential, the report added.

However, the report warned that further delays in carrying out ‘phase two’ of improvements to the Glangwili site were “unacceptable and a potential risk to patient safety”.

The report said plans should proceed swiftly, and be combined with improved transport options and parking facilities “to promote the quality of patient and family care as well as staff morale”.

It also said that facilities for partners of women not yet in labour to rest and buy a hot drink should be available 24 hours a day in Glangwili.

Despite the launch of a patient feedback group earlier this year, and the hard work of Community Health Council (CHC) in liaising between patients and the health board, the report said that there was still room for improvement in terms of patients ‘feeding back’ their experiences of maternity and children’s services.

The report said it was vital that the experiences of patients and families ‘reached those making decisions and the wider public’, so they could be acted upon.

Better communication was essential to give patients confidence in the services available, and to attract ‘high calibre staff’, it said.

Hywel Dda University Health Board Chief Executive Steve Moore said the report’s recommendations would help the board continue to improve services, but acknowledged many were still disappointed that services had been removed from Withybush.

“I know some people in our communities have been disappointed that the report has not recommended a return of services to Withybush Hospital and I acknowledge and understand that this change has been difficult and emotive and that there is significant anxiety still,” he said.

“I hope that the evidence that has been shared through this report, and the external and expert clinical view from the team, has provided some reassurance as to the safety of our services and improved outcomes for patients.

“We are fully committed to delivering Phase Two of improvements to the accommodation at Glangwili Hospital and I am personally overseeing that project as the senior accountable officer.

“As a Board, and with our clinicians and other staff, we will work through all the recommendations to produce an action plan and alongside this deliver clearer communication and engagement with staff, patients and the community.”