Nearly 6,000 voices oppose plans to close a specialist palliative care unit in the valleys
Thousands of people have signed a petition requesting that the Specialist Palliative Care Unit in Mountain Ash remains open - we tell some of their stories in this edition
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This week, we’re talking to four people in the south Wales valleys about why they want to save a Specialist Palliative Care Unit in Mountain Ash. What do you think? Do we need these beds, or would money be better spent elsewhere? After you read, feel free to tell us what you think - we love a bit of discussion.
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The Valleys Briefing
(A little round-up of some stories in brief from our valleys.)
A Freedom of Information request revealed that 56 pothole repairs had been carried on just one stretch of road – Groeswen Road – in Caerphilly in less than two years at a cost of more than £9,000. Plaid Cymru councillor Steve Skivens is demanding swift action by Caerphilly Council to end the potholes menace plaguing the area. “Nearly everyone that contacts me has a story about potholes and it’s getting worse,” Plaid Cymru councillor Steve Skivens said. “We don’t need short-term measures, we must spend more on resurfacing. But in 2023-24 the budget for resurfacing was cut from £3.4m to £1.1m and in the last financial year cut further to £739,000. Surprise, surprise the roads deteriorate significantly.” He said this is down to the Labour council’s shorter term attitude and spending cuts.
Labour MSs Alun Davies and Mick Antoniw, both representing the south Wales valleys, travelled last week to Ukraine to deliver supplies on behalf of people in the south Wales valleys. Davies spoke in the Senedd after their journey saying: “We saw the reality of life in Ukraine. The Nation of Sanctuary is a mark of our civilisation, a mark of who we are as nation and country. It tells everybody that the people of Wales will always support those fleeing war.”
On Thursday, there is an event in Pontypridd at the Treforest Industrial Estate showcasing Wales’s first comparative trial of hydrogen and electric refuse collection vehicles. Cardiff Capital Region is backing the trial as part of its commitment to accelerating fleet decarbonisation across South East Wales, generating vital evidence on the viability and scalability of hydrogen and electric RCV technology to inform future regional investment and infrastructure planning. This event will offer an exclusive first look at both vehicles, the technology behind them and the potential implications for the decarbonisation of public service fleets across Wales.
6,000 voices oppose plans to close a specialist palliative care unit in the valleys
Last week, Councillor Brent Carter, leader of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, wrote to Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board about the council’s “serious apprehension” regarding changes to specialist palliative care, including the potential loss of the Specialist Palliative Care unit on Ward 6 at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon in Mountain Ash.
The letter was in response to the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board’s announced intention to change the way specialist palliative care is run, describing their current services as “unsustainable” and “not meeting the needs” of the population. Changes are being considered to instead further strengthen end-of-life care in the community. Part of this change could potentially include removing a small specialist palliative care unit based in Mountain Ash, transforming it instead to a general medical facility.
Nearly 6,000 people have signed a petition to save the specialist palliative care beds at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, a clear signal that residents aren’t happy with the decision. “The absence of a dedicated palliative care provision in the local area would leave families in the Merthyr and Cynon Valleys reeling,” the petition stated.
Barry Myers is a 69-year-old living in Hirwaun who is scared his end-of-life care may not be what he needs when the time comes. “I was diagnosed in August 2024 with COPD, bronchiectasis and pulmonary fibrosis, and told it is incurable,” Barry told The Valleys Lead. “I am on home oxygen therapy for a minimum of 15 hours a day and have been an outpatient of the palliative care unit since January 2025.”
Barry knows that soon enough, he will need full time medical care and pain relief. “When this stage arrives, it will be extremely difficult to administer from home,” he said. “But if I go to Mountain Ash, then I can get the medical care required and still be close enough for my wife to come and visit me.”
If the unit in Mountain Ash closes, Barry would most likely be placed in Llantrisant or Bridgend – a distance his wife, 82, could not access as she isn’t able to drive.
“But at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, visiting would be just a quick taxi ride away,” he said.
One woman who has already experienced the gift of Ward 6 is Dianne Lewis from Abernant. Her son Richard, who had been diagnosed with antiphospholipid syndrome in 2016, was transported to Ysbyty Cwm Cynon in October 2023, at the age of 54, to spend his last days surrounded by family.
“The staff made the final weeks of his life comfortable, and not only supported our son, but the whole family,” Dianne told The Valleys Lead. “He was given so much support around the clock from all staff, including doctors, nursing, and domestic staff. As a family, we were able to visit anytime of the day or night, and during his last few days we didn’t leave his bedside. My husband and I sat at Richard’s bedside holding his hand while he passed.”
Dianne has heard that this change to specialist palliative care will include community specialist palliative care, but she said this “is not the right move.”
“You would waste funds duplicating resources for each patient, only to be used once; whereas, if they invested in the ward and staffing correctly, a number of the resources needed could be reused by other patients on the ward,” she continued. “We also believe that the ward would provide a consistent approach to palliative care.”
Dianne is “passionate” for this service to continue on Ward 6.
“End of life care needs to be delivered at Mountain Ash hospital,” she urged. “The staff are trained and experienced in knowing how to provide what is needed at such a critical time in a person’s life. Families are not equipped with the medical, physical, or emotional skills to adequately care for someone in their last months of life at home. The impact of having to care for someone at the end of life lives with you forever. It has a massive impact on the family’s mental health and wellbeing, which in turn adds to the pressures on GPs and NHS. We cannot afford to lose this ward.”
Merthyr councillor Geraint Thomas told The Valleys Lead that his wife, Annmarie, was very clear about her wishes when she became very ill with cancer. “She told me she didn’t want to die at home,” Geraint said. “She didn’t want the children to experience the trauma.”
Annmarie’s last days were spent at Velindre hospital, not Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, but his lived experience of losing his wife has driven Geraint to push for specialist palliative care centres in our local communities in the south Wales valleys.
“We need them so people can die in peace and with dignity,” he said. “The hardest afternoon of my life was seeing my wife die and explaining to our four young sons that their mother had passed. I’m so glad they were not exposed to seeing her die at home.”
Another woman from Aberdare, Beth, whose name has been changed, said her sister was transferred in 2019 to Ysbyty Cwm Cynon after being diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer which had metastasised to her brain.
“She needed specialist, 24-hour care which neither her husband nor us as her family could provide,” Beth told The Valleys Lead. “My sister would not have wanted us to do that either, having previously discussed such a scenario with her. The proximity of the hospital made a very harrowing time for us all a little easier.”
Beth said all of the staff were extremely caring, considerate and supportive of her sister and the family.
“They kept us informed of all changes in her condition and treatment,” she said. “We could visit at any time, up to nine in the evening - but when my sister was very ill, staying with her constantly was encouraged.”
Although Beth thinks more money should be spent on home care for patients who would like this option, she thinks the specialist palliative care ward should continue to be offered as an option.
As changes in the near future loom, Vikki Howells, Labour MS for the Cynon Valley told The Valleys Lead that while she welcomes the health board’s commitment to accommodate for the growing number of people who want end-of-life care in the community, she “cannot support their proposals to close the Specialist Palliative Care Unit within Ward 6 in Ysbyty Cwm Cynon.”
“I sincerely hope that Cwm Taf Morgannwg Health Board will reconsider their plans and I would encourage local residents to feedback their concerns to make clear how much this service is valued,” she told The Valleys Lead.
Heledd Fychan, Plaid Cymru MS for South Wales Central, told The Valleys Lead she has written to the health board, “raising concerns about the proposal and asking a number of questions that urgently need to be addressed.”
“Specialist palliative care needs to be accessible to every community, and I will continue to make the case for the ward to be retained at Ysbyty Cwm Cynon,” she continued.
A spokesperson for Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board, responded to The Valleys Lead saying: “We want everyone to have fair access to high‑quality specialist palliative and end‑of‑life care, support, and advice, delivered in a way that respects individual choices and needs. We are engaging with, and listening to, our communities to help shape the future of specialist palliative care, ensuring it is fairer, more sustainable, and better focused on supporting people with the most complex needs, while strengthening end‑of‑life care within the community.”
Dianne concluded that although she realises money is being invested in the NHS, the service isn’t meeting needs due to how it’s managed. “As a family, we are disappointed to hear that Mountain Ash hospital’s facilities are yet again being put under threat – how many times do we need to fight for what is needed in our community?”
If you’d like to add your voice to the discussion, there is an online survey here that you can complete.