Ongoing issues with Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) at Pembrokeshire’s Withybush Hospital will continue to see further capacity lost and patient’s ‘lives put at risk’ a Senedd Member has stated.

Responding to the news that a hospital manager at Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest has spoken of how reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete issues are “not going to go away, ever” following the closure of multiple hospital wards again, Welsh Conservative Shadow Health Minister, Sam Rowlands MS said: “Hospitals in Wales need regular surveying, otherwise we will continue to see further capacity lost and patient lives put at risk.

“With our hospitals crumbling and leaking across Wales, the Labour Welsh Government needs to get real and put serious capital investment on the table to repair the NHS’ infrastructure,” he added.

Estates manager for Withybush Malcolm Arnold remarked that RAAC would need to be managed and surveyed “for the lifetime” of the hospital.

RAAC is a material that was commonly used in the construction of buildings between the 1960s and 1990s.

Its presence was confirmed at Withybush hospital and at a limited part of Bronglais hospital in May 2023.

It has also been identified at a range of NHS properties across the UK, including several properties in Wales. 

Six of the Pembrokeshire hospital’s 12 wards were closed last summer after a significant amount of RAAC planks were found in the hospital building.

As well as the six wards, areas on the ground floor and kitchen, including outpatients and clinic rooms were also closed.

According to Hywel Dda University Health Board, more wards will have to temporarily shut, while re-surveying work takes place at the end of this year.

The Health Board’s chief operating officer Andrew Carruthers has stated that the work will not be anything like the scale we’ve seen of the changes over the last year, commenting that the hospital is “definitely over the worst” of the issue, adding that the re-surveying work will be for ‘small areas’ of the facility that are relocating, for a very ‘short period’ of time.

Earlier this year, Mr Carruthers remarked: “There is some way to go before Withybush hospital returns to a normal service. We will continue to engage with our staff, patients and the public and keep them informed of the latest developments.”

The Welsh Government has approved £12.8m of funding for work in areas impacted by RAAC at Withybush.