Clinical Services Plan consultation reaches midpoint

1 August 2025

Hywel Dda University Health Board has reached the mid-point in its public consultation on the Clinical Services Plan.  As the consultation reaches this key stage, the Health Board is taking the opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed so far and to reflect on the feedback received. With the consultation open until 31 August 2025, there is still time for people to get involved and share their views. 

Hywel Dda UHB is seeking views on nine healthcare services to improve access and standards and deal with current challenges. The services included in the consultation are critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, elective orthopaedics, radiology, stroke and urology. Proposals could change the way these services are provided in hospitals and some community facilities across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire in the future. 

Since the consultation launched on 29 May 2025, over 1,600 people have taken part by attending events and over 1,500 people have completed the questionnaire. These include drop-in events across our three counties and bordering communities, online meetings, as well as community group discussions.  

Participants have included patients and staff, individuals from seldom-heard groups, veterans, and elected representatives. Further activities are planned, with outreach efforts continuing throughout the consultation period.  

Medical Director Mr Mark Henwood said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their views. We are listening carefully to what people are telling us and want to take this opportunity to reflect on some of the feedback we have received so far.” 

“Members of our community recognise that our services are stretched, and have taken the time to share personal experiences, which provides valuable insights for us. As staff, patients, and local service users, we all want to improve our services to meet our current and future needs.” 

Transport and how patients could access services has been raised as a concern, reflecting how our services are spread out over a large area. The Health Board acknowledges that some options may involve longer travel times for some people and has worked with partners such as the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust and the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service throughout the process, to ensure appropriate transport arrangements have been considered. 

Further information is available in the ‘Patient and Travel Insights’ document on the consultation website: Patient and Travel Insight (opens in new tab). If a particular option is selected as part of the consultation that has an impact on travel, the Health Board will continue to work with partner organisations to look at how it can minimise the impact on patients and staff.  

Mr Henwood said: “We have heard concerns about the options being considered for stroke services, particularly the ‘treat and transfer’ model. With specific concerns about transport and being able to visit loved ones should they be transferred to access rehabilitation services in another hospital. We want to reassure people that under all options, the initial diagnosis, and where needed, potentially life-saving thrombolysis treatment, would continue to be provided at all four acute hospitals in the Hywel Dda area, including Bronglais Hospital.” 

“We’ve also received questions about the future of Llandovery Hospital. There are no plans to close Llandovery Hospital, which is a hub for our community and provides a range of services from the ward and palliative, end-of-life care, to services offered through clinics.” 

Changes relating to services offered at Llandovery Hospital are included in the consultation on Radiology, one of the nine clinical services under review. Under the current options, the X-Ray service, currently provided one day a week at Llandovery, could instead be delivered from Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen and Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli. The existing machine, generously donated by the community, is limited in the types of imaging it can perform due to advances in technology, and some patients already need to travel to other sites for their X-Rays. If the service were to continue in Llandovery, the machine would need to be replaced. 

The consultation process itself has prompted a range of views and comments. In response to this community feedback, the Health Board has added extra opportunities for people to share their views. This included attendance at Fishguard Market at Fishguard Town Hall on 31 July 2025 and a drop-in event in Tywyn, Gwynedd scheduled for Monday 4 August 2025, to ensure more people can share their views. 

People are also encouraged to suggest new options or alternative ideas for the services in scope. Any alternative options put forward will be considered as part of the conscientious consideration of the consultation. Alternative options will then be assessed in the same way as existing options have been to ensure that they are able to provide safe, sustainable, accessible and kind care. They will be measured against the same criteria, called hurdle criteria, and would need to be deliverable within two to four years. 

Mr Henwood added: “We want to understand what the options would mean for you, and we welcome your suggestions on new options or alternative ideas. No decisions have been made, there are no preferred options, and all feedback will be considered alongside supporting evidence and impact assessments before recommendations are made to the Board later this year.” 

Information about the consultation, including event details, the questionnaire and documents in accessible formats and languages, is available on the Health Board’s dedicated consultation webpages (opens in new tab) 

For more information and to complete the consultation questionnaire, visit our website or contact us at hyweldda.engagement@wales.nhs.uk or telephone 0300 303 8322, option 5 (local call rates).