President of Royal College of Physicians visits Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli

The president of the Royal College of Physicians, one of the world’s leading medical organisations, visited the Prince Philip Hospital to meet front-line staff working to transform medical services in Llanelli.
Professor Jane Dacre, president of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP) met with consultant physicians, junior doctors and health board managers before visiting the clinical research centre and the stroke unit to see staff in action. She was accompanied by Dr Alan Rees, the RCP vice president for Wales, Professor John Harvey, the RCP’s service adviser in Wales and Dr Andrew Freedman, the RCP’s associate service adviser in Wales.
Over the past year, senior RCP consultants working in the Welsh NHS have been working to address growing concerns about the current standard of hospital care in Wales. They have identified plans for change at Prince Philip Hospital as an innovative case study which is included in their new report, Rising to the challenge: Improving acute care, meeting patients’ needs in Wales, which will be launched Wednesday 12 November.
Doctors in Llanelli have worked tirelessly to plan a new model of care for the ‘front door’ at Prince Philip Hospital in which patients will be seen more quickly, by the right person, first time. While visiting the hospital, the president was able to see first-hand how staff at Prince Philip Hospital are leading the way.
Professor Jane Dacre, who leads the RCP on behalf of its fellows and members, said:
‘I felt privileged to meet physicians and trainees during my visit to Prince Philip Hospital yesterday. Patients deserve the best care wherever they live, which is why I am particularly pleased to see that doctors working in Llanelli have shown real initiative and come up with a way of modernising their medical services. Most importantly, these plans were led by clinicians, which gives them the best chance of success. This work is now a case study in the new RCP report which shows that Prince Philip Hospital is leading the way in improving standards of patient healthcare.’
Dr Granville Morris, consultant physician said:
‘We were delighted to receive a visit from Professor Jane Dacre, and we very much enjoyed showing her how we have been able to come up with an enhanced and improved model of care for the people of Llanelli through the hard work and ambition of staff here at Prince Philip Hospital. The changes we are making to ‘front door’ services will put patients at the centre of our work and will improve outcomes. It is great that the RCP is keen to learn from local hospitals about how we are working to improve patient care, and we are proud to show Professor Dacre what we’ve achieved.’

Notes:
The Royal College of Physicians plays a leading role in the delivery of high quality patient care by setting standards of medical practice and promoting clinical excellence. We provide physicians in Wales and across the world with education, training and support throughout their careers. As an independent body representing more than 30,000 fellows and members worldwide, including 800 in Wales, we advise and work with government, the public, patients and other professions to improve health and healthcare.
On Wednesday 12 November, RCP Wales will launch Rising to the challenge: Improving acute care, meeting patients’ needs in Wales, a vision for the future of acute medical services in Wales. The report shows how clinicians across Wales are leading change in the Welsh NHS and lists a number of recommendations for the future. An embargoed copy is available from Lowri.Jackson@rcplondon.ac.uk.
For further information from the RCP in Wales, please contact Lowri Jackson, RCP senior policy and public affairs adviser for Wales, at Lowri.Jackson@rcplondon.ac.uk.
For further information from Hywel Dda UHB, please contact Alexandra Williams-Fry, External Communications Officer, at alexandra.fry2@wales.nhs.uk.