In our option development stage (prior to formal consultation in 2018), options to provide emergency and urgent care for the south of Hywel Dda either from Withybush Hospital, in Haverfordwest, or Glangwili Hospital, in Carmarthen, were considered.
They were eliminated due to the distance of travel for this type of care that would be required for people in the neighbouring county (i.e., travel too great for people in Carmarthenshire when sited at Withybush and travel too great for people in Pembrokeshire when sited in Glangwili).
We know that people from coastal Pembrokeshire must travel to Glangwili Hospital for a range of urgent and emergency services now which has been a driver to move the main emergency unit further west. However, if the main emergency unit is too far west then it would affect access for the population in north Carmarthenshire and some services such as obstetrics and paediatrics (and therefore other services) would not have enough activity to be sustainable and may be lost completely.
Our proposals for the new hospital, were mapped to ensure we provide an emergency service that is as close as possible to being within an hour of most populations in our area. This is how we arrived at the zone for the new hospital, somewhere between St Clears and Narberth. Whilst no land has been purchased for the new hospital site, a land selection process has started.