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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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AM appalled at unacceptable 5 month discharge wait
July 28, 2011 2:15 PM
Peter Black, South Wales West Welsh Liberal Democrat AM, has criticised Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Health Board for making an elderly patient wait five months before he can be discharged from hospital because of incompetent Health Board procedures.
Mr. Williams, a constituent of Mr. Black who lives in Swansea, must wait to be assessed for specialist equipment before he is discharged. He has been told that he will have to wait three months for an assessment and then a further two months to receive the specialist sitting chair. Mr. Williams was initially told that he would have to wait 12 months before being assessed. His case was upgraded to 'urgent' after an intervention by his Occupational Therapist.
Mr. Williams is being treated at Singleton Hospital, Swansea.
Peter Black AM said:
"This is simply not good enough. Mr. Williams is ready to go home to his wife after several weeks in the hospital but because of ABM Health Board's incompetency, he will have to wait three months to be assessed for a specialist chair and he may have to wait a further two months to get the specialist chair installed in his home.
"There is systemic failure, not only in ABM Health Board but across Wales, in the way people are admitted, treated and discharged in our hospitals. Through no fault of his own, Mr. Williams is using a bed that could be used for another patient. Mr Williams wants to go home and free up a much needed bed but he is unable to be discharged because of inept and dawdling Health Board practices and procedures. I strongly suspect that this is not an isolated case.
"I have written to the Acting Chief Executive of the Health Board to impress upon her that cases like this must be avoided at all time. It is not good for the running of the health system, practically and financially, but most importantly, it is not good for the individual patients concerned."
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