Glangwili Hospital ward closed after crusted scabies outbreak, patients treated

Steffan Ward at Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen was closed while Hywel Dda University Health Board managed a crusted scabies outbreak. The closure was temporary, and the ward will reopen only when it is safe to do so under infection prevention and control guidance.

Crusted scabies is the rare, highly contagious form of scabies that can cause a scaly, crusted rash with thickened skin. Scabies spreads through close skin contact and should be treated quickly to stop it spreading. It is an itchy rash caused by mites that anyone can catch. Crusted scabies usually occurs in people who are immunocompromised, institutionalised or have become insensitive to itch.

Hywel Dda informed all patients and staff identified as contacts and offered treatment, including people without symptoms. Extra infection prevention and control measures were put in place, including enhanced monitoring, treatment of identified contacts and support from specialist teams. A rise in scabies across Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion has contributed to hospital outbreaks.

UK Health Security Agency guidance updated on 29 April 2026 calls for scabies cases in communal settings to be treated without delay, with contacts checked and managed quickly to reduce onward transmission. Scabies is not a notifiable disease, leaving hospitals and community teams to rely on rapid diagnosis, treatment and infection-control procedures to contain outbreaks before they spread further.