Nursing staff levels at Aberystwyth’s Bronglais Hospital are “more stable” than they have been previously, Hywel Dda’s Ceredigion county director has said.

Issues with nursing staff levels at the hospital have been a major concern recently, but county director Peter Skitt said things were better now than they had been in the past, but that Hywel Dda Health Board was still looking to do more.

He said that staff recruitment across the hospital was still a priority for the health board with current issues around recruiting community nurses.

Mr Skitt said there were also staffing issues on Ceredig Ward and the health board is set to go back out to advertise for a colorectal surgeon.

Recruitment issues have plagued Hywel Dda, as well as all other health boards, over recent years, but Mr Skitt said nursing staff levels were currently better than they had been for some time.

He said: “We have a more stable nursing workforce than we had.”

However, Elizabeth Evans, the chair of the Ceredigion CHC committee, said the problems with recruiting to the colorectal position were becoming a concern.

She said: “This is a real problem isn’t it. Why aren’t we attracting anyone?”

Mr Skitt said one of the issues that makes recruitment an issue is the rurality of the Hywel Dda board, but said there was also sometimes reluctance from people to move to smaller hospitals.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now