COPY OF LETTER PRINTED ON MONDAY, 31ST JULY 2010 IN THE ‘SOUTH WALES ECHO’
Creating the same feeling at Llandough.
I write in response to Dr Pat McKenna’s claims over the future of Rookwood Hospital (Viewpoints, August 13).
It is important to understand that the new model for specialist neuro-rehabilitation and spinal injury management is one that has been discussed at length with all the clinicians across Mid and South Wales.
It allows us to deliver early intensive specialist rehabilitation as soon as possible after injury. The service is not reducing overall numbers of beds but changing the types of beds available. There will be fewer beds in the inpatient facility at Llandough, but there will be in-reach teams which will be working with the patients who are severely injured at beds in critical care, neurosurgery and orthopaedic beds at UHW.
While I appreciate the grounds at Rookwood Hospital are superb, there are definite plans to develop the grounds at the Llandough site to create the same calm and healing surroundings with the development of a therapeutic garden and a green gym.
The driving assessment centre will not be co-located with the Llandough unit, but vehicles which allow family to take home patients on home visits will certainly be part of the new configuration.
The facilities that are available to Headway will be available at a location in Llandough. Headway has been supportive of the move and is keen to remain with the specialist inpatient service.
The European Working Time Directive has meant that the number of doctors available to cover acute medical emergencies is significantly reduced. We cannot configure these services on multiple sites and the level of medical cover available at Rookwood is limiting the patients who can be transferred here and as a consequence the specialist rehabilitation that they can access.
The staff and managers involved in the relocation and reconfiguration of the services at Rookwood are absolutely committed to developing the ambience and healing and the supportive atmosphere that has been at the heart of the Rookwood site. We appreciate that many individuals like Dr McKenna worked extremely hard and tirelessly for many years to create that. We have no intention of destroying that.
(Signed) Dr Jenny Thomas
Consultant in Rehabilitation Medicine
c/o Cardiff and Vale University Health Board
Cardiff.
