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Fears over plans to axe community hospital beds

BBC Sign saying Ysbyty Tregaron or Tregaron Hospital to the right with the hospital building to the left.BBC
BBC Wales has been told there are four patients receiving care in Tregaron

There are fears that plans to close inpatient beds at a community hospital could see more people being treated in corridors in other hospitals.

Among those who are concerned is the family of a 95-year-old man who raised more than £50,000 for the NHS during Covid.

Rhythwyn Evans – who is in Tregaron Hospital in Ceredigion after a fall – was inspired by Captain Tom Moore to walk around his bungalow 91 times on his 91st birthday in 2020.

Hywel Dda health board is proposing to close the nine inpatient beds at Tregaron in order to provide services for more patients in their own homes, saying people have "shared that they would prefer to be at home, or closer to home".

Mr Evans' son Dai Charles said the move could lead to more patients being treated in corridors or kept in ambulances outside hospitals due to a shortage of beds.

He added: "When my father went in to hospital in Bronglais, he spent the first five days on a trolley in a corridor before a bed became available.

"Ambulances are stacked up outside failing to get their patients offloaded into the hospital."

Dai Charles Evans, wearing a dark blue polo shirt, standing in a country lane
According to Dai Charles Evans the situation is "very worrying"

A health board meeting will be held on Thursday to discuss the future of Tregaron Hospital, as well as the futures of the minor injury unit at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and the Angharad ward at Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth.

Mr Evans is waiting for a care plan before he can leave hospital and his son said a recent reduction in beds meant other patients had been taken to care homes in Ceredigion.

Dai Charles Evans Rhythwyn Evans in a hospital bed, wearing black check pyjamas and holding the hand of a woman in a green cardigan while he holds a plastic cup of squash in the other.Dai Charles Evans
Rhythwyn Evans raised money for the NHS during the Covid pandemic

He fears his dad "might be asked, or be moved to a care home that is not as convenient".

He added: "It'll mean that we as a family and his friends will find it a lot more inconvenient to go and visit and he really does look forward to our visits on a daily basis."

BBC Wales has been told there are four patients receiving care in Tregaron Hospital.

Dilwyn Daniel, wearing a black jacket, standing in front of a high street
Dilwyn Daniel said closing the hospital would be a "disaster"

Dilwyn Daniel is a porter at Tregaron Hospital and his father was treated in Bronglais Hospital last year.

He said: "He was in the A&E department in the alley, in the corridors and he was there in the bed for a week - absolutely scared of all the commotion that was going on, wasn't sure what was happening."

His dad was later moved to Tregaron and said it was like "coming home".

Peter Skitt, county director for Ceredigion at the health board said Tregaron Hospital staff would be able to care for up to 40 patients in their homes.

He added: "Maintaining the beds at Tregaron Community Hospital would not help us ease this situation [in Bronglais] as today there are no patients waiting in Bronglais for a bed in Tregaron Community Hospital.

"Patients have consistently shared that they would prefer to be at home, or closer to home, and this tends to support their recovery."

The Cylch Caron project involves more community led care services, but some people are worried that there will be no hospital beds in the area.