De-escalation of Internal Major Incident at Withybush Hospital

19 January 2024

Hywel Dda University Health Board has announced that the Internal Major Incident declared at Withybush Hospital on 15 August 2023 due to the discovery of faulty concrete planks has now been brought to an end.

The health board was forced to act back in August due to concerns about the structural safety of Withybush Hospital site following the discovery of numerous defective Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) planks.

The decision to bring the incident to an end means that the health board has addressed the immediate health and safety issues and the risks that RAAC posed.

Andrew Carruthers, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Director of Operations said: “This is good news, but it is important to note that some services continue to be displaced and provided from alternative venues, which presents ongoing operational challenges.

“Repair work will continue throughout this year. There is also an ongoing programme of regular survey work to monitor the condition of the RAAC, which will cause some disruption from time to time.”

Mr Carruthers has thanked all staff working in Withybush Hospital, South Pembrokeshire Hospital and throughout the health board for all their hard work and for adapting to ensure patient services were maintained as fully as possible.

“I would also like to thank patients, visitors and member of the public for their patience, support and understanding during what has been a very challenging time for us and our patients.” he said.

“We are grateful to our patients and staff, for their continued support, and for understanding when we have needed to temporarily move services to alternative locations. The collective hard work of staff and hospital management, with support from our local authority partners and Welsh Government, has made it possible for us to make repairs and to reach this point of de-escalation.” said Mr Carruthers.

“We look forward to continuing to working together to manage the repair and recommissioning of the affected wards. We expect to have wards back in use by the end of March 2024, with work to repair the kitchens and outpatient areas completed later this year.”