HYWEL Dda Health Board needs to do more to recruit staff to Bronglais Hospital, address concerns over the sustainability of GP services and improve learning disability services, a report has found.

The health board’s annual report from Healthcare Inspectorate Wales said inspections of services had been generally positive, but said there were areas that needed to see improvements.

One of the areas of concern raised was staffing levels in Bronglais Hospital following discussions with staff during an inspection.

While the report said that the board had been trying a range of different recruitment campaigns, it said that recruitment was a major issue.

It says: “Generally we were satisfied that the staff structure was adequate and that staff of all grades worked diligently to improve service provision and to ensure patients felt safe and supported.

“We found that leadership and management was visible and effective. Discussions with staff demonstrated that staff relationships had improved.

“However, there remained concerns regarding staffing numbers. Whilst senior staff described a number of innovative ways in which staff recruitment was being carried out, it is understood that these resulted in varying levels of success.”

But there were also concerns that areas for improvement identified by HIW in a 2015 report hadn’t been fully addressed, especially in terms of providing a designated area for patient care.

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