New west Wales hospital 'won't be operational for at least a decade'

Two possible sites – at Whitland and St Clears - have been identified for the development, which had its completion date pencilled in for October 2029.

The proposal by Hywel Dda University Health Board formed part of a £1.3bn strategy, with investment being sought from the Welsh Government.

This would see both Withybush Hospital, Haverfordwest and Glangwili Hospital, Carmarthen being ‘repurposed’, with community hubs developed and both Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, being modernised.

Increased costs

But the health board heard yesterday, Thursday November 29, that it could be a decade or more before the new Urgent and Planned Care hospital is operational.

This is because the costs of delivering the original strategy had increased due to inflation.

The board’s executive director of strategy and planning, Lee Davies, said: “Estimations are that delivery of a new hospital, if achieved, since financial support is not yet secured, is likely to be at least 10 years from now.

The board meeting agreed that it will now ‘refresh’ its strategy - A Healthier Mid and West Wales, published in 2018 - and consider further changes needed to provide safe, quality, and sustainable care across primary and community settings, as well as hospitals.

"The vision remains"

Mr Davies said: “The vision remains, so it is worth reassuring people that this is not a radical change of direction but rather refinement in how we deliver the strategy in the current environment, which is different to what it was six years ago.

“We are eager to engage and work with our communities of staff, patients, partners and our local population on refreshing our strategy.”

In the meantime, the Board heard services across the UK have consolidated and standards increased and Hywel Dda risks falling significantly behind other areas with consequences for patient care and staff recruitment.

Mr Davies said: “The pandemic and subsequent programme delays have meant the timescale for delivery of the programme, in particular the new hospital network, is substantially longer than originally anticipated. It is now highly likely that the new hospital would not be operational for at least a decade.

“It follows that the key service changes unlocked through a new hospital will now need to be considered ahead of a new facility and within existing hospitals.”

'Fragile' services support

Work to support nine 'fragile' services in the interim of a new hospital has already begun.

These are Critical Care, Emergency General Surgery, Stroke, Endoscopy, Radiology, Dermatology, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics and Urology.

Mr Davies said: “In the absence of a new hospital in the south of our area to address challenges, we need to consider other options to bring together some of our services.

“We anticipate the emerging model, informed by work on the Clinical Services Plan, will seek to build on the strengths of each of the hospital sites in a way that builds complementary areas of expertise.”

Updates on the progress towards consultation for hospital services and option development for primary and community services are expected to be discussed by the board again in January 2025.

To take part in future engagement or keep up to date with the Health Board’s work,  join the Hywel Dda engagement scheme Siarad Iechyd/Talking Health: https://hduhb.nhs.wales/healthcare/services-and-teams/siarad-iechyd-talking-health/