London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Doctors in south Wales ‘scared to come to work’ over safety fears

Doctors in south Wales ‘scared to come to work’ over safety fears

Staff at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board hospitals report being ‘close to total burnout’
Doctors at a Welsh health board described being “scared to come to work” due to serious concerns over patient safety, according to a report by the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).

The report, seen by the Guardian, highlighted an “unsafe culture” at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, with problems including non-specialist doctors routinely being left to handle the emergency care of children, despite not having appropriate training.

Doctors said they had repeatedly escalated concerns to the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board management, but “felt ignored”, the RCP heard during a virtual visit to staff at hospitals in the board’s area in August.

Andrew Goddard, the RCP president, said: “During our virtual visit some trainees told us that they were scared to come to work, in case they lose their GMC [General Medical Council] number. In my eight years at the Royal College of Physicians I’ve visited hundreds of different hospitals – and I had never heard that before.”

The report said doctors had described “very frightening experiences” of treating patients who they were not fully equipped to help and that the visit had been “difficult”.

The board said it took the findings very seriously and was working on solutions to the issues raised in the report.

The visit focused on Grange university hospital, a £358m hospital that opened in 2020 with 470 inpatient beds for patients who need highly specialised services. It also included staff from three district general hospitals, which rely on ambulance services to transfer patients to Grange for specialist services.

The RCP heard that understaffed rotas at the original three sites were now being stretched across four sites, meaning that doctors with no specialist training were left to handle paediatrics, trauma, obstetric and stroke patients – sometimes in minor injuries units. Some doctors reported being expected to work two to three hours extra unpaid every day with many “close to total burnout”.

One trainee doctor, describing a single night shift, said: “I treated a four-year-old with seizures. The ambulance took six hours. Colleagues treated an 18-month-old with burns. Lots of kids come in with respiratory distress. Paediatric cases are not uncommon. We’ve treated stabbing victims. Colleagues delivered a baby earlier in the minor injuries unit. These things shouldn’t happen at all.”

A consultant physician said: “Walk-in paediatric emergencies are still being treated by a non-paediatric team, which is a cause for significant concern.”

Doctors said they had raised concerns with management on multiple occasions. One consultant told the college: “Around 60 doctors wrote a letter to the chief executive, but they just weren’t listening.”

A health board representative told the RCP: “I do recognise that some of the registrars have been very damaged by this experience, and I hugely regret that.”

Responding to the report’s findings, Dr James Calvert, medical director at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said: “It is important to remember that the Royal College of Physicians’ visit and report was made during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has significantly disrupted the delivery of our health services. We were already aware of all the concerns outlined in the report and we were working on solutions to the issues raised and we are continuing to do so.

“We are continuing to address staff shortages, which affect our health board as well as other NHS organisations across Wales and the UK.

“The health board has taken the findings of the Royal College of Physicians report very seriously.”
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
×