Hywel Dda University Health Board will consider a refreshed version of its long-term health and care strategy when it is presented to the public Board meeting on 29 January 2026.

The proposed refreshed strategy 'A Healthier Mid and West Wales - Healthier lives, well lived', sets out the priorities up to 2040. It builds on the ambitions shared in 2018 'A Healthier Mid and West Wales - Our future generations living well' strategy. It does not change the Health Board's ambition for people to live healthier lives for longer, through prevention of ill-health and supporting people to keep well. Instead, it updates the strategy to reflect how people's needs have changed over time. It also considers wider pressures on health and care services, like increasing demand and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposed refreshed strategy looks at how clinical developments, new digital tools and community facilities are creating more opportunities to provide help earlier and in our local communities. While setting out how services can adapt to these changes and continue supporting people to live healthier lives for longer.

The draft refreshed strategy has been shaped by engagement with communities, staff and partners across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. This took place in two phases of engagement held between July and November 2025 and involved nearly 3,000 people. Communities were asked what is important for them to live a healthier life, along with more focused questions about their priorities for health.

This engagement helped develop four main areas that the refreshed strategy focuses on: thriving teams, healthier communities, great care and positive futures. These key areas aim to respond to current challenges, the public and staff feedback through our engagement and the anticipated impact of an ageing population.

During engagement people consistently raised concerns about how far they need to travel to access health care. The refreshed strategy aims for more care to be delivered closer to where people live, with more support in communities and at home.

The proposed refreshed strategy also outlines how digital tools will play an increasing role in making it easier for people to access advice, book appointments, and view test results. The intention is to create a Digital First service that connects homes, communities, and hospitals. The refresh also expands on the work started in 2018 on a Social Model for Health and Wellbeing, which aims to move from providing care that mainly reacts to illness to one that seeks to prevent illness before it starts. Prevention being a central priority to supporting healthier lives and reducing long term demand on services.

Professor Phil Kloer, Hywel Dda University Health Board Chief Executive, said: "Our communities have been clear about what matters most to them. People want fair access to care, strong local services, and support to stay well in their daily lives.

"This proposed strategy refresh is about listening to that feedback and setting a clear direction for how we work together over the next 15 years. Our strategy focuses on health and keeping people well, not just treating illness.

"It is also guided by our values of belonging, growth and working together. These values continue to emphasise the importance of putting people first, improving our services, and supporting each other to deliver the best care possible.

"We will continue to work with our communities and the individuals who play a vital role in shaping our social model for health and wellbeing."

Implementing the proposed refreshed strategy will need a more radical approach to how care is delivered. Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said: "The principles of our 2018 strategy remain the same, but the world around us has changed. This refresh ensures our vision, goals and priorities reflect todays challenges and opportunities.

"We will continue to move towards prevention, wellbeing and primary and community care, supported by digital solutions where appropriate. Most importantly, it shows how what people told us is being reflected in our plans."

The Board will consider the refreshed strategy at its meeting next week. If approved, the proposed strategy will be finalised and published in multiple accessible formats. The Health Board will continue to work with communities, staff and partners as delivery plans are developed. Whilst setting a vision up to 2040, it will be regularly reviewed to take account of changes and developments to communities and health needs.

You can follow the meeting live and access the Board papers via the Hywel Dda University Health Board website here (opens in new tab).

To learn more about the 2018 A Healthier Mid and West Wales strategy, and how the strategy has been refreshed, visit here (opens in new tab).

Over the past nine weeks, almost 2,000 people across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, shared their views on what matters most for living a healthy life.

Hywel Dda University Health Board asked 11 key questions about how people stay well, how they access care, and what improvements they would like to see in their local area, including in healthcare buildings and settings and digital services. These questions were shaped around four main themes, developed from feedback shared by members of the community during the summer. These included:

1. A Social Model for Health and Wellbeing – how local areas and support networks help people stay well
2. Digital healthcare support – how digital solutions can make care easier to access and use
3. Balancing hospital care and community support – staying well in the community
4. Clinical services and hospital redevelopment – what matters most when improving healthcare buildings and spaces

The feedback gathered will be shared in January, and will help shape a refreshed long-term strategy, guiding how safe, sustainable and accessible services are delivered for the next 15 years. The ambitions of the Healthier Mid and West Wales strategy remain the same as those developed in 2018, enabling people to live healthier lives for longer. The updated strategy will reflect changes in clinical practice, technology and how people use health services since then.

Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said:

“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their views. The direction of travel remains as per our 2018 strategy, so we want to reassure people that this is not a radical change of direction but rather a refinement in how we deliver the strategy. Your feedback is helping us reshape our strategy so that it continues to reflect the priorities of the people we serve, and the changes in clinical practice.”

During the summer engagement people shared how the role of communities is key – people depend on families and friends to keep them well and connected. Timely access to GP services is also seen as important, and the ability to travel to appointments, particularly in rural areas where public transport is limited. People also asked for digital access to be simple and inclusive, recognising that not everyone has access to technology or the same accessibility needs.

At its November public Board meeting, Hywel Dda University Health Board considered progress on refreshing the strategy. It also received updates on the development of a Primary and Community Care Strategic Plan, which will be presented to the Board in January 2026. This plan has been developed following engagement including in-person and online drop-in showcase events across the region, as well as an online questionnaire. The plan will set the overall direction for Primary and Community Care and enable cluster-led plans for how care will be delivered locally.

The Board also discussed Welsh Government’s request for an addendum to the 2022 Programme Business Case (a detailed plan that explains how major projects, like new buildings and facilities, will be funded and delivered). This will explore additional scenarios for improving our estate and whether a new facility could address infrastructure problems. It will also consider how all plans align with the national strategy, A Healthier Wales, which aims to provide more care in the community and closer to home.

A draft refreshed strategy will be presented to the Board in January 2026 to agree the content. Once approved, it will be published in accessible formats. The Health Board will continue to involve communities as the strategy moves forward, with further opportunities for people to share their views.

To read more about how we’ve involved our communities in refreshing our strategy, and to stay up to date, visit the Have Your Say website. (opens in new tab)

Hywel Dda University Health Board is now in its final few weeks of its nine-week engagement to refresh its long-term strategy. The Health Board is encouraging people to get involved and share their views on what helps them live healthier lives.

Since launching the engagement on 26 September 2025, feedback has been gathered from hundreds of people across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire. This feedback is helping shape a refreshed strategy that reflects what matters most to local communities, not just in terms of healthcare services, but also the wider factors that support good health and well-being.

The engagement asks 11 key questions about how people stay well, access care, and what improvements they would like to see in their local area, healthcare buildings, and digital services. People are responding to these questions on the Health Board’s website and feedback is also being collected through engagement with community groups, social media, and direct conversations with staff.

Reflecting on the feedback received so far, some common themes have emerged. The importance of communities and connection between people - the role of families and friends - in enabling well-being has been shared. This also includes the important role that volunteers play in supporting people within communities every day. Other common themes highlight the importance of local facilities for health and well-being, such as gyms, sports clubs and social networks.

A wish to have greater access to GP services has also been shared, to be able to access services to keep well, in addition to accessing support when unwell.

From the perspective of digital support, there is strong interest in using the existing NHS Wales app to bring together information, advice, and booking services in one place. Other issues raised around digital services include needing to support individuals trying to access services where there is poor connectivity, for people with access needs (including sensory impairments), and support for people less confident using digital technology.

Feedback also shows concern about travel and transport, particularly for rural communities facing long journeys for care and limited public transport options. Some suggestions have been made around practical support to address this, such as enhancing current volunteer schemes that help people with transport issues.

Chief Executive Professor Philip Kloer said:

“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their views so far. If you have an interest in shaping the future of health and wellbeing in our area, I encourage you to take this opportunity to shape our strategy.

Gathering insights from our communities will help us to ensure our future plans continue to reflect the needs and priorities of the people we serve.”

Everyone wishing to do so can get involved and join the conversation by:

• Visiting the engagement platform: Have your Say: Our Strategy (opens in new tab)
• Inviting the Health Board to join a meeting of your community group by emailing Hyweldda.Engagement@wales.nhs.uk
• Sharing views by email: Hyweldda.Engagement@wales.nhs.uk or telephone 0300 303 8322 (option 5)
• Writing to the freepost address: FREEPOST HYWEL DDA HEALTH BOARD
• Responding to social media posts on Facebook and Instagram

People are invited to share their views by Friday 28 November 2025.

Hywel Dda University Health Board will be continuing to explore what is important for people to live healthier lives as it moves into the second phase of engagement to refresh its long-term strategy.

At a meeting yesterday (Thursday 25 September), the Health Board agreed to a nine-week engagement with communities about what shapes good health beyond visits to see healthcare professionals and how this contributes to the long-term strategy of the health board.

This engagement builds on a question we asked during the summer months - What is important for you to live a healthy life? We received close to 800 responses to the question, and we would now like to understand more about how we can move our strategy forward and enable us all to live healthier lives.

Engagement activities will put 11 questions to the public, through existing community groups and social media, to find out what matters most to people when it comes to staying well and accessing healthcare.

This will include how your local area and support networks help, how digital tools could make care and access to it easier, how we can better balance hospital care with support closer to home and what matters most when improving healthcare buildings and spaces.

Chief Executive Professor Philip Kloer said: “We launched our A Healthier Mid and West Wales strategy in 2018, and the overall direction remains firm. This includes becoming more of a wellness service, building a social model for health that looks at all aspects of what contributes to good health, supporting health through technology, investing in our buildings, and bringing together acute hospital services.

“However, the environment has changed significantly, not least due to the pandemic and also the advancement of digital capabilities. Our Board has agreed today to gather more insight from our communities to help us refresh our strategy in light of this.

“We need a strategy to face up to the stark predictions for our population in the future, from a growing gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived communities, people living with more and multiple chronic conditions, and shortages of healthcare staff.

“We know we need to invest more in prevention and digital services to enable more people to take ownership of their care and therefore it is vital that we understand what this means for people and so that our communities can help shape this.”

You can get involved and join the conversation by:

• Visiting our engagement platform here - www.haveyoursay.hduhb.wales.nhs.uk/our-strategy (opens in new tab)
• Request we come along to your community group to chat with you and gather your views
• Send us your thoughts by email Hyweldda.Engagement@wales.nhs.uk  or telephone 0300 303 8322 option 5
• Write to us at our freepost address: FREEPOST HYWEL DDA HEALTH BOARD 
• Answer our social media posts by following us on Facebook and Instagram

People are invited to share their views by 28 November 2025.