GWENT’S NHS chief has refused to rule out cuts to services in response to it moving one step towards special measures.

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board chief executive Nicola Prygodzicz said it isn’t expected it will have to reduce any services “in the short term” but warned “all options” to reduce costs will be on the table in future.

Welsh health secretary Jeremy Miles announced this week he was escalating intervention at the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board due to its “rapidly” deteriorating financial position and a “failure to deliver” improvements to emergency care at the Grange Hospital in Cwmbran.

As a result the board, responsible for all of Gwent’s hospitals and NHS services, has moved up from level three to level four on the Welsh government’s five-point intervention scale.

Latest figures show it expects to finish the financial year, in March, £18.3 million in deficit and that is despite it having already achieved more than £40m in savings with a further £2m considered achievable.

Cuts to services could result in longer waiting times for patients, which would be at odds with the Welsh Government’s targets to reduce them.

Ms Prygodzicz said: “We are not expecting any intervention to reduce patient services in the short term, but all options to reduce costs and improve the deficit position will be considered for the future. Where these options impact patient services, a quality impact assessment will be undertaken and board approval required.”

She said the board will “work closely with Welsh Government” on addressing its finances and emergency care which she described as “the same challenges facing all health boards in Wales”.

She also said the issues that have forced the escalation were already identified by the board as priorities and said: “We have made positive progress over recent months, although acknowledge there is much more to do.”

Mr Miles said direct intervention by the Welsh Government and the NHS Performance unit will “improve the timeliness and quality of urgent and emergency care” for people in Gwent.

Ms Prygodzics said the emergency department at the Grange is currently under pressure due to winter illnesses affecting staff and patients.

“This situation is no reflection on our amazing hardworking staff, who are showing incredible skill and dedication to continue to provide safe, high-quality care for our patients and communities at a time of unprecedented NHS pressures.”

Gwent politicians have expressed concern at how the escalation process, which is described by the government as a form of support, has become the norm within the Welsh NHS.

Conservative Senedd Member Natasha Asghar said: “The problems within our health service have been known for quite some time.

“The Welsh Government must now finally declare a health emergency and focus all efforts on improving outcomes for patients, driving down shamefully high waiting lists, and turning our health service around.”

Plaid Cymru’s Delyth Jewell complained services are “over centralised” and said: “When Caerphilly Miners Hospital was closed, the Rhymney valley was promised a replacement general hospital, but Ysbyty Ystrad Fawr was downgraded to be a minor injury unit only.