A new hospital in Wales is being criticised because some beds have still not been used almost a year after it opened. According to the BBC, Ysbyty Alltwen in Tremadog, Gwynedd opened its doors in April last year, replacing the previous hospital, Bron y Garth, in Penrhyndeudraeth.
Health watchdogs said that they were unhappy only 24 of the 30 beds available had been used. Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, which runs the hospital, said the new hospital had the same number of beds available as the one it replaced.
Gogledd Gwynedd Community Health Council, which represents users of the health service in the area, said it was concerned and saddened that the hospital was not being used to its full potential and it has written to the hospital’s management to obtain an explanation.
The new hospital, which faced a series of delays in originally opening due to problems which included the drainage system, also has a kidney dialysis unit.
This is not by any means a large hospital but the fact that it has greater resources at its disposal than it is currently utilising is a cause for concern and questions have to be asked as to why these additional beds are not being used.
The most obvious conclusion to draw would be that the hospital is understaffed and unable to cope with the extra patients but this seems unrealistic given the size of the hospital.
Whatever the reason it could certainly be argued that by not utilising these other beds that some patients at the hospital are not receiving the same standards of care as others if they are not receiving access to a bed.
While this in itself is unlikely to result in patients not getting treated appropriately, it does raise issues over whether the rest of the hospital’s facilities are being operated at their maximum capacity and whether more could be being done to help patients.