First Minister visits amputee veterans ahead of Remembrance Sunday

The First Minister has paid an emotional visit to Morriston Hospital’s Artificial Limb and Appliance Centre (ALAC) to speak to Armed Forces veterans ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

Eluned Morgan (pictured above meeting Falklands War veteran Steve Fisher and former Royal Army Medical Corps Terri Harris) was given a tour of the centre and spent time speaking to staff and several former service personnel who have needed its services over the years.

Also present were representatives of BLESMA, the limbless veterans’ charity which supports our veterans.

There has been a service for amputees in Morriston since 1979, prior to that it was based in St Helens Road, Swansea.

The current, purpose-built, centre was opened in 2012 and is one of three such facilities in Wales, alongside ones in Wrexham and Cardiff, which look after around 4,000 amputees.

Ms Morgan said: “It’s been wonderful to hear the appreciation of people who are veterans, in particular, who have suffered and have sacrificed as a result of war defending us and our nation. 

“It’s really important for us to pay tribute to them, particularly this weekend.

“What’s been great, here in Morriston Hospital, is seeing the support that they are given when they have lost limbs, and the wraparound care that’s absolutely appreciated. That’s what we have been looking at today.”

Swansea Bay University Health Board’s new CEO, Abi Harris (pictured above), was on hand to greet the First Minister.

She said: “It was great to be able to welcome the First Minister on a visit to ALAC ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

“She was able to speak to some of our former armed service personnel patients and hear their stories, while learning about the importance of the holistic service that we provide here.

“It was also fascinating for her to see how the service has evolved, particularly over the last few years, as the technology had advanced.

“I believe she went away very impressed with the service the staff provide to our patients.”

Prosthetic manager, Peter Mccarthy, was on hand to show the First Minister around.

He said: “It’s great to be recognised by a First Minister visit. We are such a specialised service, sometimes we are overlooked so it’s nice that she recognised our importance, especially on Remembrance week.

“Some of our patients lost their limbs serving our country, so it was poignant.”

Peter said that veterans were only a small part of their client base.

He said: “Veterans are only a small part of a bigger service. We have 1,400 service users. We have five prosthetists who see them on a regular basis to service their artificial limbs to maintain them and replace them when required.

“I think Eluned was impressed. We’re an exclusive service so we provide an amputee with every aspect of what they need. We have psychologists, prosthetists, physiotherapists, all aspects of a multi-disciplinary team, including a surgeon and doctors, all under one roof.”

Amongst the veterans who chatted with Ms Morgan was, fittingly, triple amputee and war veteran, Paul Thomas, as the 70-year-old from Neath was instrumental in setting up the centre.

Paul said: “I started off in Swansea, down in St Helens Road, when I came out of the forces in 1976.

“We found out that there was money available for a new limb centre in Morriston, so we pushed for it.

“The MP Ann Clwyd helped me to set this place up. Since then I’ve always been coming back here, for 49 years.

“It’s just had a refurbishment, this part of the building. They have everything here now. A gym, a full fitting service, everything.”

Paul (pictured left), who served in the Welsh Guards before being caught up in an IRA bomb blast, was full of praise for the service.

He said: “It’s very, very important. It’s a support network that’s here in Morriston Hospital. When you have an artificial limb, they don’t last forever. They need renewing. You will grow, they need repairing. 

“The team is there for you. You just ring up and they make an appointment and you come in straight away, it’s done more or less immediately. There’s no waiting or anything like that. They’re just there. 

“That’s the good thing. People complain about waiting lists in the NHS but there’s nothing like that in this service.”

When Paul chatted with the First Minister he was able to tell her she had met one of his two sons, Nick Thomas CBE, recently in his role as Queen’s Dragoon Guards Brigadier General.

He said: “She’s a lovely lady, really understanding. Very interested in the service.”

Terri Hunt, who served in the Royal Army Medical Corps, was similarly full of praise for the service.

The 55-year-old single leg amputee from Gorseinon said: “I’ve been coming here coming up to 18 years.

“Having the continuity of staff and familiar faces, from low level up to the consultants, mentally and physically, makes our journeys a lot smoother.

“The staff are very caring, they are never too busy, even though they are busy, to deal with whatever is going on, right from the receptionists upwards.”

Terri also welcomed the visit.

She said: “I think it’s nice that the First Minister has come to see first-hand. There’s a lot of people who will comment about things but not actually go and see them. She’s taken the time out. That means a lot. She has come to see what people are going through and what the staff are dealing with.”

Falklands War veteran Steve Fisher (pictured right with psychologist Rebecca Antuhistle), a single leg amputee, served in the Welsh Guards.

The 68-year-old said: “I’ve been coming here for around 32 years.

“This place is absolutely amazing. I have no fault whatsoever. I go to the reception staff and ask to see a doctor, they sort that out. Then I see the limb fitters. I see the physio people here. I see the nurses for bandages and cream. I see occupational therapists. I have also seen the psychologists for many months. They are amazing because you have post-traumatic stress, pain, depression, all that.

“I have nothing but good things to say about them.”

Rebecca Antuhistle, a psychologist in the centre, said: “It’s nice, as a team, to be recognised for what we do.

“I’m fairly new and it’s a pleasure joining such a well-established service and having a multi-disciplinary team. It means that everybody can provide holistic care for all the amputees that we see.

“Obviously losing a limb is a major life-changing experience and it’s quite normal to have a whole range of different emotions about that. 

“Often there can be trauma involved and offering psychological support throughout our patients’ journey, from early amputation to many years down the line – you don’t know when these issues might come up.

“Being able to offer support without having to go through mental health services, that’s embedded within the service itself, is important.”

Hannah Hughes, a prosthetist, said: “It was really nice having the First Minister come around to see the work that we do, and meet some of our patients as well.

“They are our patients for life, so we get to know them really well. We go through all the difficult periods and all the happy periods together.

“It’s good to journey with them.”