Staffing crisis forces bed cuts at Tregaron hospital

Beds have been cut from 19 to 12 at a small Ceredigion hospital because of a lack of nurses.

Hywel Dda Health Board said it was reducing admissions at Tregaron Hospital and blamed a UK-wide staff shortage.

A spokeswoman said the board had been relying on nurses from an agency who often travelled in from outside the area, but it was unsatisfactory.

She said health officials were continuously reviewing the situation.

The spokeswoman said: "Due to UK-wide staffing shortages, the health board has had to increasingly depend upon agency staff to ensure safe staffing levels at Tregaron Hospital.

"It is not satisfactory to rely on agency staff on an ad hoc basis, who often travel in from outside the area, to ensure a safe service for patients.

"To address this situation, admissions to the hospital are being reduced to meet the staffing available to ensure safe continuity of care delivered by staff employed by the health board."