Dr Meinir Jones, field hospitals clinical lead, said facilities like this field hospital, used to provide an extra level of care before a patient is discharged, were what was needed to “maintain flow” in hospitals.

The model is different from England’s Nightingale Hospital approach, which were temporary hospitals used to provide critical care for patients.

She said that while the Llanelli facility could not be used for intensive care, because of workforce issues and technical medical equipment, it had helped to ease pressure.

“It’s not just how long a patient spends in intensive care, it’s about what happens afterwards… they spend a lot longer on wards afterwards,” she said.

“I think we have in Wales been able to successfully adopt that step-down model.”