A NUMBER of hospital appointments have been cancelled this week as Covid-19 cases rise across west Wales.

Hywel Dda University Health Board says it is seeing increasing numbers of coronavirus cases across Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire with more Covid-19 patients in hospital, higher demand on services and extra pressure on staffing.

The health board says it is rescheduling a small amount of planned care, to ensure critical services are maintained, with patients affected being contacted directly.

Urgent and emergency services continue to run, along with other scheduled appointments, but people may need to wait longer than usual and will be clinically prioritised.

Hywel Dda University Health Board’s Director of Operations Andrew Carruthers said: “We are doing all we can to ensure we support teams on the ground to continue to provide critical services in challenging circumstances.

“This means we are rescheduling a very small number of operations.

“We are also making some adjustments to staffing where there are challenges in particular teams, so that we can provide as much support as possible where it is needed most.

“The general public can help the NHS in many ways. Essentially everything you do to reduce the spread of transmission and use NHS services responsibly helps us to help you.”