Clinical Services Plan Consultation

Update 23 January 2026

Health Board to decide on future model for nine clinical services

An independent consultation report prepared by Opinion Research Services (ORS) has now been received and is available to read on the Health Board’s website. The report summarises feedback from the public consultation.

Hywel Dda University Health Board will hold an Extraordinary Board meeting on 18 and 19 February 2026 to consider the future model for nine services included in the Clinical Services Plan. The Extraordinary Board meeting will be broadcast online. Board papers and a link to the meeting will be available on the Health Board’s website a week in advance: https://hduhb.nhs.wales/about-us/your-health-board/board-meetings-2026/

You can read more about the Clinical Services Plan, including the full ORS consultation report here: https://hduhb.nhs.wales/clinical-services-plan/

If you would like a paper copy of the Executive Summary of the ORS Consultation Report, please email hyweldda.engagement@wales.nhs.uk or telephone 0300 303 8322 option 5, and include your postal address and if you would prefer the copy in English or Welsh.

Hywel Dda University Health Board (the Health Board) provides health services for people across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire and also for nearby communities. We are now consulting on possible changes to nine clinical services, and this may impact on which hospitals they are delivered from. The nine services are Critical Care, Dermatology, Emergency General Surgery, Endoscopy, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Radiology, Stroke, and Urology. We welcome feedback from the public, our staff, stakeholders and groups impacted / affected by our proposals.

We have recognised for several years that some of our hospital services are fragile. This is mainly because our clinical teams are spread across multiple sites, and sometimes we rely on individual staff. Also, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to affect us. It has left us with long waiting lists, gaps in staffing (made worse by shortages nationally for some healthcare staff), social care pressures, and more demand for health services. Some of our services have not been able to return to pre-pandemic activity levels. This means patients are waiting longer than we would like for some planned care.

Given the challenges, we have developed a Clinical Services Plan, with options to change nine services. This is in a timeframe of up to four years from decision and also considering what further changes could be made in more than four years. In summary, the plan seeks to:

• respond to the fragility of the critical care and emergency general surgery services
• improve standards and outcomes, and address staffing challenges in the stroke service
• improve access to and reduce waiting times for planned care patients (ophthalmology, dermatology, urology and orthopaedics) and diagnostics (endoscopy and radiology).

In this consultation, we want you to tell us:

• which proposed options you think are best able to address fragilities in our services, improve standards or reduce waiting times
• concerns you may have about any of the options, or impacts you think they may have
• thoughts you may have on the future role of our hospitals
• anything else you think we need to consider, including alternative options or ideas you may have.

For information about the consultation, including the consultation documents and questionnaire go to: hduhb.nhs.wales/clinical-services-consultation

If you wish to receive a paper copy or you need a more accessible format, please call us on 0300 303 8322 (local call rates) and select option 5 'other services'.

Please feedback your views by Sunday 31 August 2025.