1.171 Consultees proposed several mitigations that they felt could strengthen any chosen model:
- introduce mobile or satellite radiography units for rural areas and peaks in demand.
- improve electronic sharing of scans across sites and with other health boards.
- expand use of AI-assisted reporting to reduce reporting times and support consistency.
- strengthen regional collaboration with Swansea Bay University Health Board to manage demand and share capacity.
1.172 Consultees proposed other potential alternatives and suggestions, including the following:
- retain X-ray at Llandovery Hospital, including by ensuring GPs routinely refer there.
- variations on the proposed options, including:
- adding weekend interventional services at Glangwili to Option B
- hybrids of Options A and B, such as adding Option B’s cancer focus to Option A
- hybrids of Options B and C.
- removing the diagnostic hub element from Option B.
- expand services at community hospitals, including fracture clinics and extended X-ray hours at Cardigan ICC.
- explore co-locating the regional hub with the proposed bowel screening centre, and/or consider co-locating endoscopy and ophthalmology services.
- rotate radiographers across sites to sustain smaller units.
- use the existing estate for any regional diagnostic hub rather than building a new facility.
- extend diagnostic hours to 12-hour days, seven days a week permanently at existing hospitals rather than creating a new hub.
- introduce 7-day services until waiting times are reduced, or the regional diagnostic hub completed, and only then move to 5-day services.
- maintain full services across two sites during weekdays, and the single regional hub only at weekends.
- all diagnostic radiology services could be consolidated on one site, seven days a week.
- expand the Regional Diagnostic Programme Board to include Powys Teaching Health Board.
1.173 For further details, see the radiology sections in the individual consultation method chapters.