Builth Cottage Hospital, A Centenary History 1897-1997, by Gwen Davies
Foreword | Acknowledgements | Prologue Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6
Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 |
Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Epilogue
The League of Hospital Friends, by Betts Pugh
Builth, Queen of the Wye, by Jim Davies
Chapter Thirteen - "CONCERN
FOR THE FUTURE"
In spite of repeated assurance to the contrary, the recurring rumours
of closure continued to be heard, and grew louder and more persistent
throughout 1996. It did not therefore, come as a complete
surprise to learn that the Dyfed Powys Health Authority in a Consultative
Document in 1997, state that eight out of the nineteen community
hospitals in the area could face possible closure. The reason
given was that the Authority were facing a deficit of eleven million
pounds over the next five years.
When Benjamin Franklin said “In this world nothing can be
said to be certain except death and taxes” he could have
added “and the reaction of a small community to the news
that their local hospital faces closure”.
Although no specific hospitals were named, Builth and Knighton
were mooted as possible targets, and the reaction in both those
communities was swift, vociferous and predictable.
The Health Authority blamed the situation on more expensive treatments
being undertaken., Welsh Office budget cuts and inherited deficits
from previous administrations, and said that staff cuts and hospital
closures would be inevitable. This news was received with
widespread indignation and the force of opposition was of almost
unprecedented ferocity. Hugely successful petitions were
organised in all areas, with people queuing up to add their names
to the list. In Builth, Mr Mervyn Kinsey personally collected
2,100 signatures, Mrs Jean Thrupp and Mrs Eluned Jones collected
600 in Newbridge on Wye. Members of the league of hospital
Friends marched through the streets with protest banners and on
12th March 1997 the Strand Hall was packed with local people, for
a meeting organised by the Community Health Council. Members
of the Dyfed Powys Health Authority addressed the meeting and gave
their reasons for the decisions which had been made; but they still
insisted that no specific hospitals had yet been named. Mr
Peter Stansbie, the newly appointed Chief Executive of the Authority,
was not present in the meeting, his place being taken by Mrs Pat
Archer-Jones, an Executive Director.
Well-reasoned, rational and logical arguments for the retention
of the Hospital were put forward by Dr Robbie Gibbins, Dr Terry
Watson and Dr Roger Harriss. The meeting was then opened
to the public and an animated discussion took place with many people
taking part. They pointed out the value of the Cottage Hospitals
to the community where patients receive immediate treatment near
their home and by their own doctors. They stressed the importance
of having a coronary care bed, a maternity unit and a 24 hour casualty
service in the immediate area. Apart from being of vital
importance to the health and well-being of people in the region,
the hospital is a major employer and provides jobs for 82 local
people. The
meeting ended after several hours of discussion with neither side
being swayed by the others arguments.
The Hon Antony Lewis, Chairman of the Powys Health Care NHS Trust,
at a meeting with the League of Hospital Friends confirmed that
the Trust would not condone the closure of Community Hospitals,
but did agree that some savings would have to be made.
With the Parliamentary Election due to be held in the near future,
it was understandable that the candidates of all parties were
loud in their condemnation of the closures; Mr William Hague, the
then Secretary of State for Wales, went further and denied that
any closures were being contemplated. In the build-up to
the General Election, the topic of hospital closures no longer
hit the headlines, as it had done and the subject calmed down for
a while, but it did not go away and the uncertainty brought about
an all time low in morale amongst the staff of the hospitals in
Mid Wales.
The General Election was held on May 1st 1997 resulting in a Labour
majority. The newly appointed Secretary of State for Wales,
Mr Ron Davies, in consultation with the Welsh Office, promised
a further injection of cash into the National Health Service in
Wales and he requested the Dyfed Powys Health Authority to review
the financial situation and to produce another plan by the Autumn
of 1997, and, if possible, to effect savings without having to
resort to hospital closures. That appeared to be the situation
in July 1997.
WITH THE CENTENARY IN MIND
Contributed by Jennifer Harriss
In September 1996, in spite of the recurrent threat of closure,
of perhaps because of it, a small group of members of staff, showing
tremendous dynamism, organised a spectacular fund raising walk
along Offa’s Dyke from Knighton to Kington. Doctors,
nurses and staff all took part and the stupendous sum of £10,000
was raised from the community of Builth and District. This
was remarkable support in the climate of threatened closure and
the very low morale amongst the staff. Much needed, up to
date equipment was purchased for the Cardiac Department as well
as an ice making machine, an electric bed and a high tech ECG machine.
This event was so successful that the same core committee comprising
Nurses Joyce War, Margaret Powell and Jennifer Harriss, Hospital
Administrator Miss Janet Morgan and Doctors Terry Watson and Roger
Harris followed it with the inspirational idea of celebrating one
hundred years of constant care to the community with a Grand Hospital
Fete in June 1997.
At the first meeting in October 1996 it was decided to involve
as many local organisations as possible, so that everyone could
make their own contribution in whatever way they wished. The
League of Hospital Friends, the Gardening Club, The Rotary Club,
Golf Club, all WI’s and business people and many others were
contacted and representatives from each group met on a monthly
basis to pool ideas. The committee were adamant that this
event was going to be a Celebration of 100 Years of Existence of
Builth Cottage Hospital, and to honour the people who had made
it all possible and to dedicate it to the memory of all those who
had served the community throughout the years.
The chosen venue was the Royal Welsh Showground, whose executives made it all
possible with their unswerving co-operation at all times.
A wonderful Church Service, held in St Mary’s Church on
the Sunday prior to the Fete gave everyone the chance to bless
the event and ask for guidance, and also to give silent appreciation
to all those who were participating.
The build-up in the final weeks was enormous as each stage was
co-ordinated, and after many months of planning, set backs and
last minute arrangements, the day finally dawned.
Traders were dressed in Victorian Costume and a Memorabilia Stall
illustrated 100 years of Nursing Styles and Medical Equipment,
ably put together by the two committee Doctors and Nurse Pam Llewleyn.
Messrs Irving Parry and Dennis Jones of Russell Baldwin and Bright,
local auctioneers, carried out an auction of paintings, etc, in
aid of hospital funds.
There were 350 line dancers, 120 craft stalls, maypole dancers,
kicking alice Irish dancers, “Paws for Thought” the
police dog display team, a town crier, a police brass band, fairground
organ, Victorian costumier, one man and his ducks; sheep shearing
demonstration; a children’s Victorian playground, a clairvoyant
and a display of children’s paintings as well as balloon
race, dog and pet show. Musical tastes were catered for by
the Builth Wells Male Voice Choir, the Ladies Choir and the school orchestra. The
master of ceremonies, in the guise of Mr Mike Phillips provided
invaluable, good humoured help in the final co-ordination of this
very happy day which ended in the small hours with a “Country
and Western” dance. Refreshments during the day had
been supplied to a very high standard, by the ladies involved in the
organisation of the event.
A very special memento of the day was presented to the hospital
by Powell Bros of Blaenbwch Farm, Maesmynis; this was an original
oil panting of the Hospital in its Victorian heyday, by local artist
Mrs Winifred Francis.
Also, as part of the Centenary Celebrations, the same enterprising
committee designed and ordered the production of a commemorative
plate and mug, depicting interesting landmarks in the locality,
including the Wye Bridge, the War Memorial, Builth High Street
and taking pride of place, the Builth Cottage Hospital in its original
form. These well designed and desirable pieces of pottery
may well become the antiques of the future.
As a final contribution to the centenary celebrations, the League
of Hospital Friends plan to hold an Open Day at the hospital combined
with a fete and the launch of the “History of the Hospital” book
on October 27th 1997, exactly one hundred years after the historical
opening in 1897. It will be interesting to compare the present
building, and the facilities offered, with that of the original
edifice, and to contrast the highly professional, present day staff
with that of Matron Esther Hinds, who was expected to run the hospital
single handed!
THE AMBULANCE SERVICE
No history of any “Cottage Hospital” would be compete
without a reference to one of its most important services. The
first mention of anything appertaining to an Ambulance was in 1901,
when a report from a Nurse McHugh was given to the Management Committee
of Builth Hospital saying that she had received donations amounting
to £6 17s 6d for the purchase of an “Ambulance Outfit”. The
outfit had cost £6 2s 6d and she was sending the balance
of 15/- to the committee for their appropriation. The committee
decided that the 15/- would be needed to keep the outfit in good
condition and that someone should occasionally light a fire in
the room where it was stored so that it would be kept aired! What
this “outfit” consisted of is not recorded.
It was not usual for small cottage hospitals to own their own
ambulances in those days, as they were expensive to buy and costly
to run. In the first instance, Builth shared an ambulance
with Llandrindod Hospital, until in the early 1930’s, at
the instigation of local Police Sgt Newell, a second hand Austin
20 vehicle was obtained from St John Ambulance Service in Cardiff. It
was leased to Weale Bros, Hay Road and was garaged and maintained
by them and they also supplied the drivers. The ambulance
was manned by volunteers often accompanied by St John Ambulance
nurses. When Mr Evan James was appointed orderly at the
hospital, part of his job was to attend with the ambulance on a
call-out. Not all the volunteers were on the telephone and
they would be contacted by ringing up the nearest neighbour who
had a phone. During the war years the Civil Defence also
had an ambulance which was garaged at Weale’s and was kept
in readiness in the event of enemy action.
Older Builth residents may recall the ambulance, which during
the war years was presented to this country as a gift from a women’s
organisation in the United States; it was a left-hand drive Chevrolet,
light brown in colour, and almost certainly unique in colour and
style in the history of the Ambulance Service in Builth Wells!
Before the advent of the NHS the ambulance service was financed
by voluntary donations and yearly subscriptions from local people,
which were, at one time, 1/6d per annum.
In 1968 Mr Howard Weale decided not to renew his contract. He
and his mother, Mrs Amy Weale before him, had been in charge of
the ambulance for thirty eight years, and had also supplied a sitting
care service. The general public had every reason to be
grateful to them and to the volunteers who manned the ambulances
day and night in all weather conditions.
The service was, by this time, under the control of Breconshire
county Council who, in 1968 leased an ambulance to Mr David Brown
of Cilmery where it was garaged and maintained. The radio
control was a Brecon and all calls were relayed to Cilmery which
was manned 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Two out of a complement
of five part-time attendants were always on duty. Over the
years various vehicles were leased from the transport pool at Brecon. During
winter months a four-wheel drive vehicle would be leased to cope
with adverse weather conditions and mountain rescue call outs. All
the crew members had received some medical training, most of the
female attendants being ex-nurses. After the Local Authority
re-organisation in 1974, the ambulance service was under the control
of the “Powys Ambulance Service” and all ambulance
crews had to attend a four hour “in house” service
training session each Wednesday. Later, the ambulances carried
an incubator and resuscitating equipment and training was given
in the use of these. Although these attendants were not as
highly qualified medically as the later paramedic, never-the-less
they gave a high quality service and when in July 1979, the contract
was terminated by Mr Brown, the council expressed its regret.
Following the termination of the contract by Mr Brown, the service
was taken over by the Powys Area Health Authority, who in 1984
decided that a site adjacent to the hospital should be considered
for use as an Ambulance Station. A site was identified and
the local ambulances have been based at the rear of the hospital
since that time, with the telephone control being centralised at
Newtown.
The function of the ambulance staff is, not only to transport
urgent and non-urgent patients to and from medical centres, but
also to attend road traffic accidents, mountain rescue call outs,
industrial and home accidents, and give immediate medical attention
to sufferers from heart attacks and trauma. Some crew members
undergo training to become technicians or paramedics who are qualified
to use defibrillators and other specialised equipment, and give
emergency “on site” treatment. The training
to become a paramedic is taken in stages for approximately 10 weeks
and is both practical and theoretical. The Builth crew is
comprised of three paramedics and four technicians, who, working
a shift system, give cover from 8 am to 12 pm. After these
hours cover is provided from home; all crew members have to live
within a three mile radius of the station.
In April 1993, the ambulance services of Powys, Gwent and South
Glamorgan merged into the South And East Wales Ambulance NHS Trust – the
larges ambulance service in Wales. For a time the operational
telephone centre remained in Newtown, but in April 1997, amid much
controversy and vociferous protest from many quarters, this control
was transferred to Pontypool.
Many new ambulances have been purchased by the Trust. These
are spacious, more comfortable and better equipped than those previously
used. The state-of-the art cabs are completed with a computer
screen, which, at a touch, give the name, address and age of the
patient, details of the medical condition and circumstances surrounding
the case. It also gives road directions and the current position
as the vehicle proceeds to the scene of the call-out. The
latest technology also allows an ambulance nearest to the location
of an accident to be tracked via a satellite link.
Although grateful for the advancement of medical and computer
technology, when the need arises for a person to use the ambulance
service, the expertise, kindness and consideration of the attendants
are of paramount importance to an apprehensive and frightened patient; all
these qualities are to be found in the Builth Ambulance Team, whose
dedication to their job and care for their patients are an echo
of those found in the Builth Hospital Staff.
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