NHS
NHS Wales is in crisis, and Carmarthenshire is paying the price. Every day, patients are stuck in hospital beds they no longer need, staff are pushed to breaking point, and communities are left waiting for care that should be there when they need it. This isn’t inevitable—it’s the result of political choices that have allowed the social care system to collapse and workforce shortages to deepen. Carmarthenshire deserves better. That’s why the Welsh Liberal Democrats are putting forward a clear, credible plan to break the gridlock, restore capacity, and get the NHS back on its feet. Below we are setting out the scale of the challenge and the alternative vision we are campaigning for: an NHS that works, a social care system that supports it, and a government that finally puts patients and staff first.
Wales Faces £478,000 Daily Discharge Crisis – Carmarthenshire Hospitals Hit Hard
The Welsh Liberal Democrats have highlighted a growing crisis in NHS Wales, with £478,000 spent every single day keeping patients in hospital who are medically fit to leave but cannot due to the absence of social care packages. This equates to £174 million per year in avoidable costs.
Latest figures from StatsWales show that in Carmarthenshire hospitals, part of Hywel Dda University Health Board, regularly over 80 patients who are clinically optimised to leave experience delays of more than 48 hours before discharge or transfer. The problem is most acute at Glangwili General Hospital (Carmarthen) and Prince Philip Hospital (Llanelli).
The impact of these delays in patient discharge are
Patient safety risks: Longer hospital stays increase vulnerability to infection, immobility, and loss of independence.
System Strain: Occupied beds reduce hospital capacity, leading to A&E overcrowding (especially at Glangwili) and cancelled elective procedures.
The single biggest reason for this, is a shortage of care home beds and home care packages and only the Welsh Liberal Democrats have a plan to break the logjam and ease NHS pressures, by calling for 5,000 new social care beds.
Cymru yn Wynebu Argyfwng Rhyddhau Cleifion £478,000 y Dydd – Ysbytai Sir Gaerfyrddin dan Straen
Mae Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru wedi tynnu sylw at argyfwng cynyddol yn GIG Cymru, gyda £478,000 yn cael ei wario bob dydd i gadw cleifion yn yr ysbyty sydd yn feddygol ffit i adael ond na allant oherwydd diffyg pecynnau gofal cymdeithasol. Mae hyn yn cyfateb i £174 miliwn y flwyddyn mewn costau y gellid eu hosgoi.
Mae’r ffigurau diweddaraf gan StatsWales yn dangos bod mewn ysbytai Sir Gaerfyrddin, sy’n rhan o Fwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Hywel Dda, yn rheolaidd dros 80 o gleifion sydd wedi’u clinigol optimeiddio i adael yn profi oedi o fwy na 48 awr cyn cael eu rhyddhau neu eu trosglwyddo. Mae’r broblem fwyaf difrifol yn Ysbyty Cyffredinol Glangwili (Caerfyrddin) ac Ysbyty Tywysog Philip (Llanelli).
Mae effaith yr oedi hyn mewn rhyddhau cleifion yn cynnwys:
• Risgiau diogelwch i gleifion: Mae arosiadau hirach yn yr ysbyty yn cynyddu bregusrwydd i heintiau, anweithgarwch, a cholled annibyniaeth.
• Straen ar y system: Mae gwelyau’n cael eu meddiannu’n lleihau capasiti’r ysbyty, gan arwain at orlawn yn yr Adran Achosion Brys (yn enwedig yng Nglangwili) a chanslo gweithdrefnau dewisol.
Y rheswm mwyaf am hyn yw prinder gwelyau mewn cartrefi gofal a phacynnau gofal cartref, ac yn ôl Democratiaid Rhyddfrydol Cymru dim ond ganddynt hwy mae cynllun i dorri’r tagfa a lleihau’r pwysau ar y GIG, drwy alw am 5,000 o welyau gofal cymdeithasol newydd.
It is indefensible that nearly half a million pounds a day is wasted keeping people in hospital who are medically fit to go home. This is money that should be easing pressure on frontline staff, not propping up a broken system. Patients in Carmarthenshire are being left in limbo. They’re well enough to leave, but the care simply isn’t there. That’s not just inefficient—it’s unsafe. Every delayed discharge is a bed that can’t be used for someone in A&E, someone waiting for surgery, or someone in crisis. The system is gridlocked, and it’s patients who pay the price.
Justin Griffiths, lead candidate Sir Gaefyrddin