Extra dates added to Hywel Dda consultation on new planned and urgent care hospital

11 April 2023

Hywel Dda University Health Board has been seeking the views of staff and members of our communities about three potential sites for a new planned and urgent care hospital, as part of our wider strategy to improve health and care in the region. The consultation was launched on 23 February, and individuals and organisations invited to share their opinions on the shortlist of sites by 19 May 2023.

Last year, we submitted ambitious plans to the Welsh Government, which if successful, could result in the region of £1.3billion investment into health and care in west Wales. The foundation of the plan is to bring as much care as possible closer to people’s homes. We are planning for a network of integrated health and care centres, which will be designed with local communities across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.

A new urgent and planned care hospital is part of our strategy to help us provide more care in community settings, by having a sustainable hospital model that is fit for future generations. This will improve and increase the specialist care services that can be provided and tackle some long-standing challenges, including ageing buildings, problems in maintaining medical rotas over several hospitals, and staff recruitment.

Our consultation sets out three potential sites for a new Urgent and Planned Care Hospital in the south of the Hywel Dda University Health Board area: two near Whitland and one near St Clears.

We do not have a preferred site and we have not bought any site or land for this development. Purchasing a site and delivering the new Urgent and Planned Care Hospital is subject to Welsh Government funding, which is not yet confirmed, and if successful, would take several years to achieve. In the meantime, we continue to work with our communities to prepare and deliver the best health and care services that we can.

Lee Davies, Hywel Dda University Health Board Executive Director of Strategy and Planning said “We have been engaging with individuals and groups through our consultation events both in-person and online. We are grateful to everyone who has come along to share their views and ask questions.

“As part of the consultation, you have also told us that you would like additional consultation events to help those unable to attend, or where the location of the events made it difficult to access for some. As a result, we are adding four extra in-person consultation events as listed below and an additional online event.”.

Details of these events, together with the consultation documents and questionnaire, are available on our website: New hospital site - Hywel Dda University Health Board (nhs.wales) please come along and share your views.

We look forward to meeting with you soon and hearing your views.