FULL emergency services and elective surgery will be retained at Bronglais Hospital, health chiefs have promised.

But they have warned that recruitment problems could result in a reorganisation of services.

There had been moves to remove a range of acute services from Bronglais Hospital under the previous Hywel Dda Health Board regime.

However, the new chief executive Steve Moore and chair of the board Bernardine Rees have said Bronglais is strategically important as the only general hospital in mid Wales and must have a wide range of services.

That has been reiterated in a report outlining future health services in Ceredigion, although health chiefs have admitted that, while they want to retain and reintroduce services, that will also be dependent on staff recruitment.

The report says: “The priority for the service is to maintain 24/7 emergency medical and surgical services to ensure patients receive timely, life-saving treatment.

“In a remote hospital such as Bronglais, the provision of elective care is essential to ensuring access for patients in addition to providing an attractive case mix for consultants.

“Over the past few years, there has been a lack of clarity and certainty regarding service provision, but the recent confirmation of the site as strategically important in Wales allows a model of service to be presented that will allow the site to meet its requirement to provide 24/7 care."

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