Urgent Message Regarding The Grange University Hospital

Tuesday 29 March 2022

The Health Board is under sustained and unprecedented pressure. Despite actions to try to stabilise our services, today we have had to declare a state of ‘business continuity’.

Our Emergency Department at The Grange University Hospital is extremely busy, and we have seen a record number of attendances, and waits to see a doctor, in some cases, are greater than 14 hours where the patient’s condition isn’t life threatening. We have very few beds available across our hospitals to accommodate patients requiring admission.

We need to ask for your support and to only attend The Grange University Hospital if it is life threatening or you have a serious injury.

If you need medical help, please think carefully about the services you choose.

If you are unwell and unsure what to do, you can check your symptoms, or call NHS 111 for advice.

Only attend the Emergency Department if you have a life-threatening illness or serious injury, such as:

• Severe breathing difficulties

• Severe pain or bleeding

• Chest pain or a suspected stroke

• Serious trauma injuries (eg. from a car crash)

If you have a less serious injury then please visit one of our Minor Injury Units in Newport, Abergavenny or Ystrad Mynach. Find out more about our Minor Injury Units.

If you have a loved one in hospital who is deemed medically fit to be discharged, please consider taking them home and caring for them. If your loved one is medically fit to be discharged, then hospital is not the best place for them to be – they will recover better at home. If your loved one is medically fit for discharge, our staff will contact you to discuss the next steps.

We are asking families to help in this way because it is best for their loved one and will free up hospital beds for sick patients who need to be admitted to hospital.

Please help us to make our service safer by sharing this information with friends and family.