Eight new medical doctors recruited from overseas are now in place at Withybush Hospital and are being inducted into the Welsh NHS by established teaching consultants at the Haverfordwest hospital.

The new recruits, who already have their medical qualifications, are being supported by a range of clinical colleagues to understand the systems and processes of the Welsh NHS before being fully integrated into the junior medical rota at the hospital later this year.

The doctors, who have been arriving in a staggered manner since August, are adjusting well to the move to Pembrokeshire. And a further four medical doctors are set to join the new recruits in November, as the University Health Board continues to try and fill the remaining post for this particular rota in an environment of national shortages in medical staff.

Interim hospital clinical lead for Withybush Hospital, Dr Iain Robertson Steel, explained: “As a health board we recruited these service doctors when we did not receive an allocation of junior doctors from the Wales Deanery earlier this year. The recruitment drive was really successful and we continue to build on that, putting great efforts into recruiting to our other vacant posts across medical, nursing and therapy professions.

“Withybush Hospital has a lot to offer - from excellent established teaching to a breadth of clinical work experienced in a busy, rural general hospital. We also have great links with our local universities, not to mention the benefits of living and working in beautiful Pembrokeshire.

“I am really pleased to say that the feedback we have received from our new service doctors, and from colleagues working with them, has been really positive and we look forward to building on this in the coming weeks. This will allow us to stagger re-opening the beds we temporarily lost in the summer due to the temporary shortfall in doctors. We are still on course to achieve this by the end of this year, subject to also having enough nursing staff in place to support this.”

In addition, three clinical fellow doctors from overseas have started work in Withybush Hospital’s Emergency Department. Nursing recruitment remains an issue across all Hywel Dda UHB hospitals, but a recent open day with student nurses was so successful that all 27 accepted posts at local hospitals, including five who have requested allocation to Withybush Hospital. Further recruitment events are planned, targeting a range of clinical staff and including the British Medical Association Career Fair in London.

Dr. Steel said: “We continue to work with our nursing and human resource colleagues to try and secure the necessary nursing staff, as well as medical staff, to build capacity at Withybush Hospital. We are also working with GPs, the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust and colleagues in the local authority and third sector to ensure that we can work together.

“We are grateful to members of the public, particularly those from the Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire border who have during this period been referred to Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen, for unscheduled medical care. We do not underestimate public support for the hospital - we share it. We can all help by using health services appropriately, which protects our NHS services so they are there for us when we need them most.”

Both Glangwili Hospital, in Carmarthen, and Prince Philip Hospital, in Llanelli, continue to provide medical care for patients on the Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire border during this period. Building work to increase overall bed capacity at Glangwili Hospital is ongoing and due to be complete in November, with ongoing efforts to recruit the additional clinical staff necessary.

For help in choosing the best health service to meet your need, please visit www.hywelddahb.wales.nhs.uk/choosewell