‘SPEAK UP ON FUTURE OF HEALTHCARE’
Visitors allowed back on hospital wards
LLANELLI’S MS Lee Waters and MP Nia Griffith are urging members of the public to give their views on the future delivery of health services in the area.
Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDUHB), which covers Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion, is asking for feedback on its plans to develop a new super hospital west of Carmarthen.
Following a public consultation in summer 2018, HDUHB decided to vote in favour of a plan that would see the development of a new hospital between St Clears in Carmarthenshire and Narberth in Pembrokeshire.
It was also decided that Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth would continue to provide acute hospital services for the people of Mid Wales and that Llanelli’s Prince Philip Hospital (pictured above) would remain as a general hospital offering acute medicine.
Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen and Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, however, would lose services and be “repurposed” while still offering “a range of services to support a social model for health and wellbeing”.
Elsewhere, 10 community health hubs would provide a network of healthcare facilities across the region.
The health board is inviting people’s opin
We want good quality, specialist care as close to home as possible
Lee Waters MS
ions on a post-Covid future in general and how healthcare is provided across the region today and in the future, pointing out that health and wellbeing centres have been opened in Aberaeron and Cardigan while plans are in the pipeline for similar facilities in Llanelli and Cross Hands.
Mr Waters said: “Myself and Nia Griffith MP will do everything we can to stand up for Llanelli and ensure we have access to the best care locally.
“We want good quality, specialist care as close to home as possible.
“The health board is drawing up plans for a new state-of-the-art hospital. It is really important that people living in the Llanelli constituency make their voice heard on the exact location and range of services this new hospital will offer.
“For those Gwendraeth communities who are closer to Glangwili than to Prince Philip, we will push the health board to maintain as many services there as possible, as well as think about how they can access the state-of-theart facilities planned at the brand new hospital.”
The town’s MP Nia Griffith said: “I know that many of us here in Llanelli care deeply about our hospital and will want to have a say in this latest consultation.
“Lee and I are seeking an urgent meeting with the health board, together with officers of the hospital campaign group SOSPPAN (Save Our Services Prince Philip Action Network) to get more detail, and to stress the need to recognise the excellence of Prince Philip Hospital, and to keep all our services there, whatever reorganisation they are planning.
“I would urge everyone to respond to the consultation, and to let others know about it.”