#hywelddanhs — Public Fediverse posts
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LLANELLI: Mums-to-be face Swansea trips for check-ups as maternity clinic changes
Pregnant women in Llanelli who plan to give birth in Swansea will have to travel there for all their consultant appointments, under changes coming in December.
At the moment, those choosing Singleton Hospital can have some of their antenatal care at Prince Philip Hospital on their doorstep, with the rest in Swansea.
That split arrangement is ending, and the satellite clinic at Prince Philip is being replaced.
Not everyone is affected. Women whose pregnancies do not need a consultant will carry on seeing Hywel Dda community midwives locally, as now.
And for those who choose to give birth in Carmarthenshire rather than Swansea, a new Hywel Dda-run obstetric clinic will open at Prince Philip in place of the current one.
The change hits one group in particular: women who want a Singleton birth but have a pregnancy needing consultant oversight. For them, every hospital appointment now means the trip to Swansea.
The clinic at Prince Philip has been run under an agreement between the two health boards — Swansea Bay, which runs Singleton, and Hywel Dda, which covers Carmarthenshire.
It was Swansea Bay that gave notice. Hywel Dda was formally told on 6 June, and the agreement ends on 9 December.
Hywel Dda says the two boards work to different clinical guidelines, policies and governance arrangements, and that reviews found those differences “can create inconsistencies”.
Both organisations agreed ending the arrangement would support a safer and more coherent pathway for women and babies, the board said.
Sharon Daniel, director of nursing, quality and patient experience at Hywel Dda, said: “The safety and quality of care for pregnant women and people and babies must always be our primary consideration.”
She said the current arrangement had let people from the area access consultant-led maternity services in Swansea while attending some appointments closer to home.
“However, reviews undertaken by both health boards have highlighted that operating across two organisations with different clinical and governance frameworks can create challenges,” she said.
Women, families and staff will get their say first. A six-week engagement exercise starts on 17 August, with details of how to take part published beforehand.
“The engagement process will help us better understand any impact of the changes,” Ms Daniel said, adding that feedback would be considered as the new arrangements were planned.
Maternity services at Swansea Bay University Health Board were escalated to Level Four intervention in July last year.The change comes with maternity care at Singleton under intense scrutiny. Services were escalated to Level Four intervention by the Welsh Government in July last year — the second highest level — after an independent review found repeated failures in the quality of care and governance.
That review examined 168 clinical cases and heard from more than 1,000 people. The then Health Secretary, Jeremy Miles, issued a full and unreserved apology to women and families who “have not received the service or care they deserved”.
Two months earlier, a report by patient body Llais had gathered the experiences of more than 500 people who used Swansea Bay maternity services. Women described being left alone during labour, having concerns dismissed and feeling unsafe. One said she was left covered in blood; another that her catheter was left in for 26 hours.
A healthcare lawyer acting for affected families said at the time that some cases involved babies only weeks old, and that “there is now a generation of people fearful of what might await them when the time comes to give birth”.
Swansea Bay has apologised unreservedly, accepted all the review’s recommendations, and says it has made improvements to staffing, training and services. Perinatal mortality has fallen since 2023.
In Llanelli, it lands on a hospital where residents are already watching services closely. Councillors have called for Prince Philip to become a “centre of excellence” for stroke care amid fears of erosion, with the town council leader warning the town “cannot afford to lose any more”.
Under separate proposals, Glangwili in Carmarthen would become the region’s only 24-hour acute stroke unit, leaving Prince Philip as a transfer site.
People can register to take part in Hywel Dda’s engagement work through its Siarad Iechyd / Talking Health scheme.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Independent Review finds repeated failings in Swansea Bay maternity care
The review that led to Level Four intervention by the Welsh Government.Patient group reveals shocking treatment of new mothers at Singleton Hospital
More than 500 people shared their experiences with Llais.PRINCE PHILIP HOSPITAL: Town council calls for Llanelli stroke unit to become ‘centre of excellence’
Councillors warn the town cannot afford to lose more services.LLANELLI: More NHS services moving to Pentre Awel
#HywelDdaNHS #Llanelli #maternity #PrincePhilipHospital #SingletonHospital #SwanseaBayNHS
What else is relocating in the town, and when. -
LLANELLI: ‘Thousands of children’ — charity boss retires after 29 years keeping Carmarthenshire’s kids safe
For 29 years, Tracy Pike has been one of the people keeping Carmarthenshire’s children safe. Now she’s calling time.
The chief executive of Llanelli charity CYCA is retiring — closing a career her own trustees say has touched “thousands of children and families.”
Tracy Pike MBE (Image: CYCA)Tracy joined CYCA in 1997 to run its learning clubs, when it was little more than a small local play centre. She took over as chief executive in 2001, and never left.
Over almost 25 years at the top, she turned it into something far bigger — a wellbeing charity known across the county for getting help to struggling children and families before problems spiral.
She had been thinking about retiring for months, the charity said, and with family in mind decided now was the time.
Tracy came to the job the hard way. She started out as a teacher responsible for pastoral care, then set up her own stress management company, training staff across health boards, schools and public bodies.
She also built the first “Stress Management on Prescription” project for Hywel Dda — years before “social prescribing” became a buzzword in the NHS.
At CYCA she made that idea her life’s work. The charity’s social prescribing model — getting children mental health support early, before crisis point — is the legacy staff say she’ll be remembered for.
She also spent those years quietly building the team who’ll carry it on, bringing people up, handing down what she knew.
Tracy Pike MBE outside Buckingham Palace after receiving her honour in 2018 (Image: CYCA)The recognition came in 2018, when Tracy was awarded an MBE for 40 years of service to children and families.
Her trustees, past and present, did not hold back in their tribute.
“Your legacy of keeping children safe will live on in this charity for generations,” they said. “Because of your dedication and compassion, thousands of children and families have received support, protection and hope.”
“You have been a constant source of strength, wisdom and care.”
They thanked her “for every hour, every decision, every safeguarding action, every moment of care and every young life you helped change.”
CYCA says it now looks to its next chapter — but on foundations Tracy spent nearly 30 years laying.
More from Swansea Bay News
More Llanelli news
The latest headlines from across the town.Health and care in Swansea Bay
#Charity #CYCA #featured #HywelDdaNHS #Llanelli
Coverage of the services that matter to your community. -
HIP OP BACKLOG: With more than 3,000 on south-west Wales hip surgery waiting lists, new data reveals average waits still over a year
Patients who needed a hip replacement on the NHS in south-west Wales waited well over a year on average to be treated, figures released under Freedom of Information show.
At Swansea Bay University Health Board, the average wait for elective hip surgery was around 16 months in the year to the end of March 2026.
At Hywel Dda University Health Board, which covers Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire, the average was around 15 months.
Together, more than 3,000 people were on the two boards’ waiting lists for a hip replacement — 1,476 at Swansea Bay UHB and 1,608 at Hywel Dda.
Welsh Government targets state that 95% of patients should be treated within 26 weeks of referral — around six months — and 100% within 36 weeks.
On that measure, both boards are treating hip patients far more slowly than the standard sets out, though the fuller picture shows waits that have been falling from much higher peaks.
At Swansea Bay UHB, the average wait has dropped sharply over three years: from around 30 months in 2023/24 (131 weeks), to around 18 months in 2024/25 (77 weeks), to around 16 months last year (70 weeks).
Hywel Dda’s figures moved differently. Its average rose from around 20 months in 2023/24 (611 days) to around 23 months in 2024/25 (689 days), before falling to around 15 months last year (450 days).
There is an important caveat in how these averages work. They measure how long patients who were actually treated had waited — so they do not capture people still on the list, and a falling average can sit alongside a growing waiting list.
That is exactly what has happened at both boards.
At Swansea Bay UHB, 1,476 patients were on the waiting list for a hip replacement at the end of March 2026 — up from 1,141 a year earlier, though down from 1,437 two years ago.
At Hywel Dda, 1,608 people were waiting as of 28 May 2026 — the larger of the two lists.
The boards measure their fastest cases slightly differently. Swansea Bay UHB said the quickest-treated 5% of patients waited 10 weeks or less last year, while Hywel Dda recorded a shortest single wait of 14 days.
In its response, Hywel Dda set out the standards it works to. A spokesperson said its orthopaedic service “is working to ensure its waiting lists are meeting Ministerial Measures set by Welsh Government.”
Those measures, the board said, require “no patients waiting longer than 52 weeks for their first outpatient appointment and no patients waiting longer than 104 weeks (two years) for treatment” — a longer benchmark than the 26-week referral-to-treatment target.
The board added that all patients “are prioritised in accordance with Royal College Guidance and treated in turn in accordance with the national policy,” ensuring the most clinically urgent are seen first.
Swansea Bay UHB’s response set out its figures without further comment.
Long waits have led some patients across the UK to explore private treatment, either at home or overseas. The numbers doing so from these two boards’ lists, however, appear small.
Swansea Bay UHB said fewer than five patients were removed from its hip waiting list in the past year because they had chosen to go private — a figure it withheld in full to avoid identifying individuals.
Hywel Dda said 16 patients were removed from its list over the same period after electing for private treatment.
Both health boards have invested in orthopaedic capacity in recent years. Hywel Dda opened new day-surgery units at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, backed by £20m of Welsh Government funding, which it said would help cut surgical waits across its area.
Cutting NHS waiting times has also been a recurring theme in Welsh politics, with dedicated orthopaedic treatment centres among the ideas floated to bring the backlog down.
The figures were obtained through Freedom of Information requests to the two health boards.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
MORRISTON: £10m vascular hybrid theatre takes shape in a quiet decade-long transformation
Investment reshaping Wales’s largest acute hospital.Hospital team’s new approach to treating wrist fractures is a break with tradition
#HywelDdaNHS #NHSWales #SwanseaBayNHS #waitingTimes
How a Morriston team changed the way it treats a common injury. -
LLANELLI: More NHS services moving to Pentre Awel — here’s what’s relocating and when
A range of health services for patients in the Llanelli area are relocating to Canolfan Pentre Awel over the coming weeks, with Hywel Dda University Health Board bringing more care under one roof at the new community facility.
The centre, which opened to the public in October 2025, is the health hub of the wider £60m Pentre Awel development on the south Llanelli coast.
The health board says the move brings services closer to the community in a modern, purpose-built setting, with better accessibility, transport links and parking than the older sites being left behind.
Blood testing has already led the way. Phlebotomy services moved to Pentre Awel earlier this month, ending a period in which Llanelli patients had been shuffled between temporary homes — including the Dafen mass vaccination centre, which left those without cars struggling to get to appointments.
Now a much longer list of services is set to follow through June and July.
What’s moving, and when
From 22 June, COVID-19 and RSV clinics currently run from Dafen will move to Pentre Awel, along with cardiac rehabilitation nurse assessments currently based at Prince Philip Hospital.
From 29 June, a cluster of services currently delivered from Llwynhendy will relocate. These include the community heart failure clinic, catheter management and “trial without catheter” service, the district nursing continence service, the ear wax microsuction service, and the specialist continence service that forms part of the bowel and bladder advisory service.
Also from 29 June, the early intervention in psychosis service will move from MIND in Carmarthen, and a brand new IV clinic will open at the centre — where patients have a full assessment, key observations are checked and blood tests may be taken.
From 8 July, the liver disease clinic will move across too.
The health board says patients with existing appointments do not need to do anything. Anyone whose appointment is affected by the changes will be contacted directly, and appointment arrangements and contact details stay the same unless patients are told otherwise.
Hywel Dda services are located on the ground floor, at the rear right-hand side of the building.
Getting there
For patients travelling by bus, the L1 and L2 route connects Pentre Awel to Llanelli town centre, Parc Pemberton, Parc Trostre, Penyfan, Morfa, Swiss Valley, Prince Philip Hospital and Felinfoel, with a stop near the main door. The service runs roughly every 90 minutes.
The L11 route serves Kidwelly and the surrounding area at the start and end of each day.
Part of a flagship regeneration scheme
Pentre Awel is no ordinary health centre. The 83-acre site at Machynys is billed as the largest development of its kind in Wales, bringing together health, research, education, business and leisure on a single landscaped site overlooking the Loughor Estuary.
It is being delivered by Carmarthenshire County Council as part of the Swansea Bay City Deal, in partnership with Hywel Dda University Health Board, universities and colleges, with around £40m of City Deal funding behind it.
When work began on the scheme, it was projected to be worth £467m to the local economy over 15 years and to support up to 1,800 jobs once the whole site is operational.
Alongside the health and research facilities, the development includes a council-run leisure and aquatics centre, with assisted living accommodation, a care home, a hotel and housing planned for later phases.
Welcomed by the health board and council
Peter Skitt, clinical care group service director at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said bringing the services together would make access easier for the community.
“The facility provides a modern, welcoming environment for patients and improved working conditions for staff,” he said.
“By bringing teams together under one roof, we can strengthen collaboration across services and provide a more joined-up experience for people using our services. This move represents an important long-term investment in healthcare provision for the Llanelli community.”
Cllr Hazel Evans, Carmarthenshire County Council’s cabinet member for regeneration, leisure, culture and tourism, said the move was a significant step for the area.
“Patients, families and carers will now benefit from a modern, welcoming environment designed to support integrated care,” she said.
“This move represents an important milestone for Canolfan Pentre Awel and a significant step forward in delivering high-quality, community-focused healthcare for the region.”
Patients with enquiries can contact the health board’s Communications Hub on 0300 303 9642.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Pentre Awel City Deal project wins government approval
How the £40m City Deal-funded scheme was given the green light in Llanelli.Llanelli patients moved again as services shift to £60m Pentre Awel
The background to the relocation of blood tests and other services to the new site.Blood test services move to Pentre Awel
Phlebotomy was the first Hywel Dda service to make the move to the new centre.Llanelli handed £20m regeneration lifeline
#CanolfanPentreAwel #HywelDdaNHS #Llanelli #PentreAwel #SwanseaBayCityDeal #vaccination
A wider drive to invest in some of the town’s most deprived communities. -
CANCER CARE: Double win for Swansea Bay’s NHS innovators — and a third award comes to Hywel Dda
Cancer teams from Swansea Bay have taken a double win at the awards celebrating the people transforming cancer care in Wales.
Swansea Bay University Health Board won two accolades at the third Moondance Cancer Awards — the only awards dedicated solely to cancer services in Wales, organised independently by the Moondance Cancer Initiative to spotlight the individuals, teams and collaborations leading the way across NHS Wales.
The health board took the Better Patient Experience award for its Radiographer-Led Late Radiotherapy Effects Service — which provides tailored support and timely specialist referrals for patients experiencing long-term complications after treatment, creating a more responsive model for cancer survivorship in Wales.
“It feels overwhelming to win, but it’s a great achievement for a brand-new service across Wales,” said Rebecca Lloyd, commenting on the award.
The board also shared the Working Together award — alongside Velindre University NHS Trust, Health Education and Improvement Wales and Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board — for the Building a Multi-Professional Radiotherapy Workforce initiative.
The collaboration has strengthened radiotherapy workforce capability across Wales, developing a safe, standardised, multi-professional approach to radiotherapy target delineation — with a national training framework, shared learning resources and consistent assessment designed to reduce variation and support faster progression from diagnosis to treatment planning.
“It feels wonderful to have won this award tonight,” said Lucy Wills, chair of the Multi-Professional Radiotherapy Target Definition Group. “It’s really motivating to be recognised and appreciated for our work; this win will help us move forward with our objectives in the future.”
The team behind the Building a Multi-Professional Radiotherapy Workforce initiative — a collaboration between Swansea Bay, Velindre, HEIW and Betsi Cadwaladr — collect the Working Together award (Image: Moondance Cancer Initiative)There was a third win for the region too — with Hywel Dda University Health Board taking the Detection and Diagnosis award for its One-Stop Clinic for Post-Menopausal Bleeding, speeding the route to diagnosis for women across the health board area.
The winners were judged by a panel including Prof Isabel Oliver, Chief Medical Officer for Wales, alongside senior figures from across health, life sciences and innovation.
Wendy Evans, managing director at Moondance Cancer Initiative, said: “The Moondance Cancer Awards celebrate the individuals, teams and collaborations driving change across cancer services in Wales. This year’s winners demonstrate the impact of focus, creativity, joint working and shared ambition in improving outcomes and experiences for patients.
“Moondance Cancer Initiative is privileged to work alongside NHS colleagues and partners to support progress for patients. We look forward to continuing that work, building on the ideas, relationships and momentum reflected in this year’s awards.”
Moondance Cancer Initiative is a philanthropically funded not-for-profit which finds, funds and fuels ideas to improve cancer outcomes in Wales — with an emphasis on earlier diagnosis, reducing variation and equitable access to care.
The full list of winners is at moondance-cancer.wales.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
MORRISTON: The scrub nurse who has served the NHS for 52 years — and was handed her qualification by the future King
More than five decades of NHS service at Morriston Hospital.PARAMEDIC JOBS: Welsh Government to hold emergency summit after 82 newly qualified paramedics left with no posts
The NHS workforce pressures facing the new government.More Swansea Bay University Health Board stories
#cancerCare #cancerServices #HywelDdaNHS #MoondanceCancerInitiative #MorristonHospital #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard
The latest health news from across Swansea Bay. -
PRINCE PHILIP HOSPITAL: Town council calls for Llanelli stroke unit to become ‘centre of excellence’ amid shake-up fears
Llanelli Town Council is calling for Prince Philip Hospital to be developed into a “centre of excellence” for stroke care — rather than see its specialist services scaled back.
The cross-party intervention comes as Hywel Dda University Health Board consults on plans that would change how stroke patients across west Wales are treated.
Under the proposals, Prince Philip would provide initial emergency stroke treatment before patients are transferred to Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen for specialist inpatient care — a “treat and transfer” model.
Glangwili would become the region’s only round-the-clock acute stroke unit, with Prince Philip, Withybush in Haverfordwest and Bronglais in Aberystwyth left as transfer sites.
The plan stems from a board decision in February to centralise emergency surgery, stroke and specialist critical care at Glangwili.
The health board argues change is needed on safety grounds. Stroke services are currently spread across four hospital sites with no specialist cover seven days a week, meaning patients do not always get the standard of care they should.
Lee Davies, the board’s executive director of strategy and planning, said: “We need to change our current service to ensure that people in our communities have the best possible outcomes and chance of recovery from a stroke.”
But councillors in Llanelli fear the changes could mean the gradual erosion of the specialist stroke services currently provided through Ward 9 at Prince Philip.
The issue was debated at the council’s full meeting on 3 June.
The council’s independent leader, Councillor Sean Rees, said stroke services were among the most important provided to the community, and that Ward 9 had built a strong reputation for high-quality specialist care.
“Local people are understandably concerned about what these proposals could mean for the future,” Councillor Rees said. “The health board must provide clear assurances about the long-term future of stroke services in Llanelli.”
He has submitted a series of questions to the health board as part of the consultation, asking whether Ward 9 will continue as a specialist stroke unit, what services will remain in Llanelli, and whether there are any plans to downgrade, relocate or remove specialist stroke provision from Prince Philip in future.
Councillor Rees has previously warned that the town “cannot afford to lose any more” services from the hospital.
During the debate, councillors argued the focus should be on enhancing Prince Philip’s role, not reducing it.
Councillor Sarah Evans, who represents the Lliedi ward, said the hospital should be developed as a centre of excellence for stroke care, building on the expertise, facilities and staff already at Ward 9.
Councillor Evans and her colleagues pointed to the hospital’s location and its accessibility for communities across Llanelli and Carmarthenshire, and the importance of keeping specialist care close to where patients and their families live.
Returning to the theme, Councillor Rees said: “Rather than transferring more services away from Llanelli, the health board should be exploring opportunities to strengthen and expand the excellent work already being carried out at Prince Philip Hospital.”
He argued there was “a strong case” for the centre-of-excellence approach: “The expertise already exists, the need clearly exists, and local people deserve access to specialist treatment as close to home as possible.”
The call comes weeks after Prince Philip became the first hospital in Wales to offer a pioneering cancer diagnosis technique — which the council points to as evidence of the expertise already on site.
Hywel Dda is holding a public drop-in event on the proposals from 2pm to 7pm on Monday 15 June at the Selwyn Samuel Centre in Llanelli.
The health board is encouraging residents, patients, carers and staff to take part in the consultation before any final decisions are made.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
HYWEL DDA: Stroke patients face major shake-up as Glangwili set to become region’s only 24-hour acute unit
The consultation now under way on the future of stroke services.CARMARTHEN: Glangwili to become regional hub as health bosses centralise services
The February decision to centralise emergency surgery and stroke care.LLANELLI: Prince Philip Hospital becomes first in Wales to offer pioneering cancer diagnosis technique
A sign of the specialist expertise already at the hospital.Llanelli’s minor injuries unit to become 12-hour urgent care centre — no return to 24-hour service
#CllrSeanRees #HywelDdaNHS #Llanelli #LlanelliTownCouncil #PrincePhilipHospital #Stroke
An earlier service change at Prince Philip as part of the same plan. -
MORRISTON: Crane lift weekend approaches as £10m vascular hybrid theatre takes shape — the latest milestone in a quiet decade-long Morriston transformation
Work is well underway on a major new operating theatre at Morriston Hospital that is expected to transform vascular care for patients across Swansea, Neath Port Talbot, Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire.
The £10 million hybrid theatre — a state-of-the-art facility combining traditional operating room equipment with the most modern imaging technology — is being built in one of the hospital’s internal courtyards, just off the main corridor and behind the catheter labs that form part of the Welsh Cardiac Centre.
Big crane weekend approaches
The next major milestone comes in early June. Swansea Bay University Health Board has confirmed that the area in front of the hospital’s ALAC block will be temporarily closed from 7pm on Thursday 4 June through to around 8pm on Sunday 7 June.
During that period, a large crane will be brought to site, constructed, and used to lift the modular theatre building into place. The actual lift is due to take place on Saturday 6 June.
Once the building is in position, attention will turn to fitting out the interior, with the new hybrid theatre expected to receive its first patients in October.
Artist’s impression of the new operating theatre
(Image: Swansea Bay University Health Board)Why it matters
Vascular surgery treats patients with diseased arteries and veins. Blocked arteries can result in limb amputation, and swollen blood vessels — known as aneurysms — can burst with catastrophic consequences, including sudden death.
The new hybrid theatre will be capable of treating up to 500 patients a year. Crucially, it allows traditional vascular surgery to be conducted alongside less-invasive keyhole procedures, all within the same operating environment.
That dual capability means patients can often undergo fewer separate procedures and spend less time in hospital. It also opens up the prospect of significantly faster access to surgery — a major issue for vascular patients whose conditions can deteriorate rapidly while waiting for treatment.
A regional facility
While the theatre will be physically based in Swansea, it is being designed to serve patients from across the Swansea Bay University Health Board and Hywel Dda University Health Board areas — covering a population of more than 800,000 people across south-west Wales.
The project is being funded by the Welsh Government as part of its broader vascular services improvement programme.
A decade of Morriston upgrades
The hybrid theatre is the latest in a long line of investments that have been quietly remaking the Morriston site over the past decade.
The hospital’s clinical service offer has expanded steadily, with a new fracture clinic opening, the Children’s Emergency Unit being upgraded, and the renal ward reopening following a £700,000 refurbishment. The Welsh Government has also funded a six-figure upgrade to one of the hospital’s X-ray rooms, among other smaller capital projects.
Behind the scenes, the hospital has been quietly leading the NHS in Wales on green energy. The Morriston solar farm, the first of its kind in the UK NHS estate, has saved the health board around £4 million since it was commissioned, and was later extended with a major new battery storage system to capture surplus power for use overnight. The system has run the hospital for 50 continuous hours during winter months without drawing from the grid.
A separate £16.5 million development of the hospital’s underlying electrical infrastructure has further reduced the risk of power cuts — important for a regional acute hospital where outages have life-and-death consequences.
And a much bigger transformation ahead
The hybrid theatre is, however, just one current-build piece of an even more ambitious transformation planned for the Morriston site.
Last August, Swansea Bay University Health Board lodged a hybrid planning application for a 1.57km access road from M4 junction 46 at Felindre, alongside outline plans for a major “Morriston Health Campus” expansion on land north of the existing hospital.
That campus masterplan, if approved, would deliver a new 18,000m² Critical Care Centre with a new Emergency Department and theatres, a 5,000m² Regional South Wales Thoracic Surgery Centre, a new six-ward block, and a 6,000m² Institute for Life Sciences in partnership with Swansea University — fulfilling the City Deal-backed vision for a life sciences and innovation campus at Morriston endorsed in 2021.
A relocated helipad on the roof of the new Critical Care Centre is also planned, to speed air ambulance transfers directly into the Emergency Department.
If approved, the access road would be built first, with the hospital expansion phases following.
Four years from endorsement to lift
The current hybrid theatre project itself has been some time in the making. In June 2022, the then Health and Social Services Minister Eluned Morgan endorsed the multi-million pound proposal, clearing the way for Swansea Bay University Health Board to develop detailed plans.
Four years on, the building delivery phase is in full swing, with the 6 June crane lift representing one of the most visible single moments in the construction programme to date.
Anchoring a regional role
Morriston is already one of the largest acute hospitals in Wales and the host of the Welsh Cardiac Centre, serving as the regional referral centre for complex vascular, cardiac and burns surgery.
The combination of steady incremental upgrades over the past decade, the new hybrid theatre now under construction, and the campus masterplan working its way through planning, points to a hospital that will look very different in ten years’ time — and one that the health board is positioning to anchor specialist care across south-west Wales for decades to come.
Related stories from Swansea Bay News
Plans lodged for new Morriston Hospital access road and major campus expansion
The full Morriston Health Campus masterplan and M4 link road, submitted in August 2025.Multi-million pound life science project set for approval
The 2021 City Deal-backed vision that set the direction for the Morriston Health Campus.Pioneering hospital solar farm saves £4m
Morriston’s UK-first NHS solar farm, central to the hospital’s energy transformation.Plans for Vascular Hybrid Theatre at Morriston Hospital get a major boost
#ElunedMorganMS #HywelDdaNHS #MorristonHospital #SwanseaBayUniversityHealthBoard #VascularTheatre #WelshGovernment
Our June 2022 report on the Welsh Government endorsement that kicked off the project. -
HYWEL DDA: Stroke patients in west Wales face major shake-up as health board prepares to launch new consultation — with Glangwili set to become the region’s only 24-hour acute unit
Stroke patients across west Wales could face much longer journeys for specialist care under plans being put out to public consultation — with Llanelli‘s Prince Philip Hospital set to lose its acute stroke capability if the preferred option goes ahead.
Hywel Dda University Health Board will decide at its public board meeting on 28 May whether to launch a second round of consultation on the future of stroke services — the one area it couldn’t reach agreement on when it made decisions on eight other fragile services at an extraordinary meeting in February.
Under the preferred option now being put forward, Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen would become the region’s only 24-hour acute stroke and rehabilitation unit.
Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest and Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth would all become treat-and-transfer sites — meaning patients would receive initial stabilisation there before being transferred to Glangwili, or directly to a thrombectomy centre in Cardiff or Bristol.
Bronglais would also have a stroke rehabilitation unit under the plan.
The health board says the current setup is dangerous. Stroke services are currently spread across four hospital sites and there is no specialist cover seven days a week — meaning patients are not always getting the standard of care they should.
The preferred option was not one of the original ideas put out to consultation. It emerged from two alternative suggestions — Option 106 and Option 210 — put forward by members of the public during the first phase. The board felt that neither worked on its own, but combined, they could.
The proposal is a significant one for Llanelli. The town has already seen its Minor Injuries Unit downgraded as part of the same Clinical Services Plan process, and local councillors have been vocal about the cumulative impact of service losses at Prince Philip.
Councillor Sean Rees warned last year that Llanelli “cannot afford to lose any more” of its healthcare services, and raised specific concerns about what the stroke changes would mean for Prince Philip — including the added pressure of patients being transferred in from Ceredigion if Bronglais was downgraded.
The board’s chair Dr Neil Wooding said the second consultation was a direct result of what communities told the board during the first phase.
He said: “Thank you to everyone who has already given their time and provided feedback in the first phase of our Clinical Services Plan consultation, which has enabled us to reach this point. While we were able to take decisions on eight of the nine fragile services included in our Clinical Services Plan earlier this year, no decisions about the future model for stroke services have been made.”
Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said: “We know how important stroke services are to our communities, and we are committed to taking the time needed to understand people’s views on the preferred option and the other options already consulted on, before any final decisions are made.”
He added: “We need to change our current service to ensure that people in our communities have the best possible outcomes and chance of recovery from a stroke.”
The consultation will ask whether people support the preferred option — and if not, which of the previously consulted-on alternatives should be considered instead. People will also be able to flag equality and Welsh language concerns.
If approved on 28 May, the consultation opens the same day and runs until 26 July 2026. The board will then weigh all the evidence from both phases before making a final decision later this year.
The public board meeting on 28 May will be broadcast live online, with board papers already published on the Hywel Dda website.
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Councillor warns against further service losses in Llanelli amid health board consultation
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#Aberystwyth #BronglaisHospital #ClinicalServicesPlan #GlangwiliHospital #Haverfordwest #HywelDdaNHS #HywelDdaUniversityHealthBoard #Llanelli #PrincePhilipHospital #Stroke #WithybushHospital
Senior health leaders and politicians call for millions to be spent upgrading existing hospitals after a new build is delayed by ten years. -
PONTYATES: Green Party candidate calls for independent review of Meddygfa’r Sarn closure process — citing missing equality assessment and lack of pre-consultation engagement
A Green Party candidate has called on Hywel Dda University Health Board to pause its decision on the future of Meddygfa’r Sarn in Pontyates – warning that a full Equality Impact Assessment has not yet been completed, and that no community engagement was undertaken before a preferred option was identified.
Michael Willis, Green Party candidate for Carmarthenshire in Thursday’s Senedd election, made the call following the Freedom of Information disclosure obtained by the Save Meddygfa’r Sarn Working Group and reported by Swansea Bay News, which he says raises serious questions about whether every reasonable option has been exhausted before recommending the closure of the surgery.
The FOI disclosure states that no community engagement was undertaken before managed dispersal was identified as the preferred option. It also confirms that an Equality Impact Assessment – intended to examine the impact on older residents, disabled patients, Welsh-speaking patients and those without access to private transport – will not be completed until the 28 May board meeting itself, rather than having informed the recommendation at an earlier stage.
Willis is calling for a full independent review of GP recruitment efforts at the surgery since Hywel Dda took over its management in 2017, alongside publication of all options considered – including incentives, shared roles, training practice status, alternative premises and branch-service models. He is also calling for a capacity assessment of receiving practices before any patient transfer is approved.
“The people of Pontyates deserve more than a closure proposal dressed up as inevitability,” he said. “If the Health Board is relying on recruitment failure as a central reason for dispersing patients, then residents are entitled to see clear evidence of a sustained, targeted and imaginative recruitment effort for this surgery.”
The FOI disclosure revealed that the health board made no targeted attempts to recruit a salaried GP to the practice in nine years – despite citing a lack of recruitment interest as a key reason for recommending closure. The only recruitment activity recorded was a small number of circular letters sent to locums already working across managed practices in Carmarthenshire.
The campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn has been running since January, when Hywel Dda first proposed dispersing all 4,300 patients to other surgeries. Campaigners lodged a formal complaint over the consultation process, submitted a 52-page report and sustainability document to the board, and held a human chain around the surgery. Independent candidate and surgery patient Carl Peters-Bond has also called on the board to scrap the closure proposal, describing the board’s recruitment claims as “duplicitous.”
Willis said the issue went beyond a single surgery. “A GP surgery is not simply a building. It is continuity of care, local trust, access for older people, support for families, and a key part of community infrastructure. Once lost, services like this are rarely restored,” he said.
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s position, as set out in its January report, is that the practice is “entirely locum-dependent” and that there has been “little interest in recruitment to salaried roles” – the characterisation that campaigners and candidates dispute.
The health board began an eight-week engagement period on 9 February, running until 6 April, ahead of a board decision expected at Yr Egin in Carmarthen on 28 May. Under the proposal, patients would be transferred to nearby practices including Coalbrook Surgery in Pontyberem, Meddygfa Minafon in Kidwelly, and some practices in Llanelli.
Willis said managed dispersal should be treated as a last resort rather than a default. “Hywel Dda should pause the process, publish the full evidence base, and work with residents on a credible rescue plan before any irreversible decision is taken,” he said.
The final decision on the future of Meddygfa’r Sarn will be made at the Hywel Dda University Health Board meeting on Wednesday 28 May at Yr Egin in Carmarthen.
Our Meddygfa’r Sarn coverage
FOI reveals no specific recruitment attempts for Sarn surgery GP in 9 years
Our original report on the recruitment revelation.Independent candidate and surgery patient calls on Hywel Dda to scrap closure
Carl Peters-Bond’s reaction to the FOI revelation.Residents submit 52-page report as confidence in health board process collapses
#Carmarthenshire #GreenParty #HywelDdaNHS #HywelDdaUniversityHealthBoard #MeddygfaRSarn #PontIets #Pontyates #PontyatesDoctorsSurgery #SeneddElection2026
How the Save Meddygfa’r Sarn Working Group has fought the closure proposal. -
PONTYATES: Independent candidate and surgery patient calls on Hywel Dda to scrap Meddygfa’r Sarn closure after FOI recruitment revelation
An independent Senedd candidate who is himself a patient at Meddygfa’r Sarn has called on Hywel Dda University Health Board to scrap its recommendation to close the Pontyates surgery – after Freedom of Information documents revealed the board made no targeted attempts to recruit a salaried GP to the practice in nine years.
Carl Peters-Bond, Mayor of Kidwelly and independent candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said the FOI revelation directly contradicted the impression given in the health board’s own January report, which cited a lack of recruitment interest as a key reason for recommending closure.
“This is duplicitous, beyond fairness, and misleading behaviour from Hywel Dda,” he said. “They cited a lack of recruitment interest as justification for closing this surgery – but they never actually tried to recruit anyone. Sending a circular letter to locums already on the books is not a recruitment campaign. Those responsible for presenting this to the board in the way they did need to be held to account.”
The FOI documents, obtained by the Save Meddygfa’r Sarn Working Group and reported by Swansea Bay News last week, show that since Hywel Dda took over management of the practice in 2017, the only recruitment activity undertaken was a small number of circular letters sent to locums already working across managed practices – asking whether any wished to take up salaried roles. No targeted recruitment campaign was ever run specifically for Meddygfa’r Sarn.
Peters-Bond also raised concerns about the consultation process itself, which he said had failed to ask the right question. “The health board’s consultation only asked people about the impact of the closure – not whether the closure should happen at all,” he said. “That is not a fair or genuine consultation. In light of what these FOI documents have revealed, I am calling on health board bosses to scrap the closure proposal entirely and go back to the drawing board.”
The campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn has been running since January 2026, when the health board first proposed dispersing all 4,300 patients to other surgeries. Hundreds of residents protested and the council demanded action in February as fears grew the outcome had been predetermined by the health board. Campaigners held a human chain around the surgery in February and lodged a formal complaint over the consultation process in March.
The working group subsequently submitted a 52-page report and sustainability document to the board alongside a new clinical proposal for the surgery’s future. A temporary lifeline was granted when the board delayed its final decision in January – but that decision is now due on 28 May.
Hywel Dda University Health Board’s January report stated that the practice was “entirely locum-dependent” and that there had been “little interest in recruitment to salaried roles” – the characterisation that Peters-Bond disputes.
The final decision on the future of Meddygfa’r Sarn will be made at the Hywel Dda University Health Board meeting on Wednesday 28 May at Yr Egin in Carmarthen.
Our Meddygfa’r Sarn coverage
PONTYATES: FOI reveals no specific recruitment attempts for Sarn surgery GP in 9 years
Our original report on the FOI revelation that prompted this reaction.Senedd candidate joins campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn as pressure on health board mounts
Our previous coverage of Carl Peters-Bond’s involvement in the campaign.Future of Pontyates GP surgery in doubt as health board considers dispersing all 4,300 patients
#CarlPetersBond #HywelDdaNHS #MeddygfaRSarn #PontIets #Pontyates #PontyatesDoctorsSurgery #SeneddElection2026
Our original report when the closure threat first emerged. -
PONTYATES: FOI reveals no specific recruitment attempts for Sarn surgery GP in 9 years as decision day looms
The campaign to save a rural GP surgery in Carmarthenshire has uncovered what campaigners say is a damning revelation – that the health board managing Meddygfa’r Sarn in Pontyates made no specific attempts to recruit a salaried GP to the practice for nine years, despite citing a lack of interest as a key reason for its closure recommendation.
Freedom of Information documents obtained by the Save Meddygfa’r Sarn Working Group reveal that since Hywel Dda University Health Board took over management of the practice in 2017, the only recruitment efforts made were circular letters sent to locums already working across managed practices in 2021, 2023 and 2024 – asking whether any wished to take up salaried roles. The surgery has been without a salaried GP since February 2025, and apart from one GP recruited in 2021 who left the same year, no targeted recruitment campaign has ever been run for Meddygfa’r Sarn specifically.
Campaigners say this directly contradicts an impression given in the health board’s own January report on the surgery, which stated: “The Practice is entirely locum-dependent currently and there has been little interest in recruitment to salaried roles.” The FOI documents suggest that limited interest may have been a consequence of limited effort.
Jane Nicholas, speaking on behalf of the working group, said the health board’s approach showed a lack of vision. “Despite not having any salaried GPs at present, we do feel well supported by the surgery,” she said. “We have continuity of care as many of the locums have worked at Meddygfa’r Sarn for years. It’s a great team and we really value being able to access care locally and get an appointment when needed. Being seen promptly at the local surgery keeps patients away from A&E which is a cost saving in the long run. The Health Board’s recommendation shows a lack of vision and forward planning.”
The FOI documents also reveal that Meddygfa’r Sarn is far from alone in its reliance on locums. Minafon surgery in Kidwelly – which would receive approximately 1,000 extra patients under the proposed dispersal plan – is itself 83% reliant on locum staff. Other managed practices are between 29% and 77% reliant on locums, raising serious questions about the capacity of receiving surgeries to absorb thousands of displaced patients overnight.
Retired nurse Janet Knott, who served the NHS for 52 years including many years in the Gwendraeth area, warned that the proposed mass dispersal of patients would place enormous strain on receiving surgeries and their staff. “The Health Board’s plans would see thousands of patients transferred overnight. That is very worrying for patients but also for the staff at the other surgeries, particularly the reception staff, who would have to field calls from many more anxious patients,” she said. She added that the people of the Gwendraeth valley felt “let down and discriminated against” by the proposals.
Janet and Jane spoke to Dylan Ebenezer on Radio Cymru’s Dros Frecwast programme on 23 April – the same day the S4C party leaders debate took place at Yr Egin in Carmarthen, with health and NHS spending taking centre stage. Following the interview, Janet surprised Dylan by revealing a personal connection – she had supported his mother-in-law during her time in Glangwili’s maternity unit after giving birth to his wife, and Dylan had long heard stories of a nurse named Janet who had been particularly supportive. He insisted on a photograph to share with his wife.
The working group has submitted a 52-page report and separate sustainability document to the health board, alongside a new proposal from a clinical team to provide services at Meddygfa’r Sarn. Hundreds of patients attended three public engagement events or responded in writing during the consultation process.
Campaigners are concerned that the FOI documents – which arrived too late to inform their formal submission – may contain further significant revelations. They are continuing to work through the material.
The surgery serves patients across the Gwendraeth valley, and campaigners say its closure would leave a vulnerable rural community without accessible local primary care, pushing patients towards already-stretched services in Llanelli and Carmarthen.
Hywel Dda University Health Board has been approached for comment.
A final decision on the future of Meddygfa’r Sarn will be made at the Hywel Dda University Health Board meeting on Wednesday 28 May at Yr Egin, Carmarthen. Campaigners will be attending in person, and the proceedings can be followed online – details will be published on the Hywel Dda website.
Our Meddygfa’r Sarn coverage
Senedd candidate joins campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn as pressure on health board mounts
Political pressure grows as the Senedd election campaign focuses attention on the surgery’s future.Campaigners lodge formal complaint over Pontyates GP surgery closure plans
The working group escalates its challenge to the health board’s process.Hundreds protest to save Pontyates GP surgery as council demands action
Community anger spills over as councillors demand the health board think again.Residents step up fight to save Pontyates GP surgery as confidence in health board process collapses
The campaign intensifies as trust in the consultation process breaks down.Pontyates surgery gets temporary lifeline as health board delays final decision
A stay of execution – but the final decision is now set for 28 May.Future of Pontyates GP surgery in doubt as health board considers dispersing all 4,300 patients
#GPRecruitment #HywelDdaNHS #HywelDdaUniversityHealthBoard #MeddygfaRSarn #Pontyates #PontyatesDoctorsSurgery
Our original report when the closure threat first emerged. -
CARMARTHEN: Glangwili Hospital faces £82m repair backlog as Wales-wide NHS maintenance bill nears £1bn
Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen is sitting on an £82 million backlog of high and significant risk maintenance and repairs — part of a Wales-wide bill that has now reached nearly £1 billion, new figures reveal.
New data from NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership shows the total backlog has grown to £917 million — a 71% rise in just four years — with more than £616 million needed to fix the most serious issues at twelve of Wales’ thirteen main hospitals.
Hywel Dda University Health Board, which runs Glangwili along with Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli, Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest and Bronglais in Aberystwyth, carries a combined backlog of £221 million across its four main hospitals. A detailed breakdown of the figures paints a stark picture of the estate:
Glangwili in Carmarthen has a total high and significant risk backlog of £82,097,174 across its 377 beds, with 65% of its space aged 50 years or more. Of that figure, £3.6 million is classified as high risk and £78.5 million as significant risk.
Withybush in Haverfordwest — which declared a major incident in 2023 after the discovery of potentially defective RAAC concrete in its structure, leading to ward closures — has a backlog of £63,055,228 across 211 beds. Some 74% of its space is aged 50 years or more, and £22.4 million of its backlog is classified as high risk — the largest high-risk share of the four hospitals.
Withybush General Hospital in Haverfordwest. Image: Hywel Dda University Health BoardBronglais in Aberystwyth has a backlog of £37,381,068 across 170 beds, with 63% of its space aged 50 years or more and more than 40% of its space not considered fire safety compliant.
Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli has a backlog of £25,017,426 across 264 beds. Notably, none of its space is aged 50 years or more, though £6.6 million of its backlog is classified as high risk.
The figures, covering 2024-25, show more than 30 NHS sites across Wales have more than half of their buildings predating the birth of the NHS in 1948. The only hospital with no maintenance problems is the recently-opened £350 million Grange Hospital near Cwmbran — the first major new hospital built in Wales in 20 years, and one that took decades from first proposal to opening.
Mark Dayan, a policy analyst at the Nuffield Trust health think tank, described the situation in Wales as a “worryingly large backlog of maintenance by anyone’s standards” — more than twice what the entire NHS in Wales spends in a year on all buildings and permanent equipment. He warned that the condition of buildings can have “a really limiting effect on healthcare,” particularly when health boards want to reconfigure services or shift planned care to reduce waiting times.
Carl Peters-Bond, independent Senedd candidate for Sir Gaerfyrddin, said the figures came as no surprise given the direction of travel in Hywel Dda. “The lack of investment at Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli and Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen is not unexpected, considering the health board’s intention to spend billions on a replacement hospital far away from where the majority of patients live,” he said.
Peters-Bond argues that the current health board and trust system is failing communities through bureaucracy and duplication, and is calling for a single integrated NHS for Wales with social services brought under the same umbrella. “Bureaucracy is breaking families — and that must change,” he said. “I believe in cutting waste, joining up services, and making sure resources go where they’re needed most. By sharing resources across the country, services can be provided in communities where they’re needed.”
With the Senedd election less than a month away, the state of NHS Wales buildings has become a battleground across the parties.
Welsh Labour is pledging a £4 billion Hospitals of the Future fund to build new hospitals across Wales over the next ten years. The fund includes a “hospital development in west Wales” which, as we reported in March, appears to refer to Hywel Dda’s long-standing and controversial proposal for a new urgent and planned care hospital near St Clears or Whitland in Carmarthenshire — a scheme that would see Glangwili and Withybush downgraded to community hospitals. The party says it will also continue making capital available to health boards to maintain the existing estate in the meantime.
Plaid Cymru called the backlog “eye watering” but said Labour’s pledge “simply doesn’t add up.” Health spokesman Mabon ap Gwynfor described it as “nothing more than another empty promise from Labour that once again won’t be delivered,” and said Plaid would prioritise tackling the high-risk maintenance backlog and carry out urgent repairs to protect the safety of staff and patients, assessing the estate on a case-by-case basis.
Reform UK’s James Evans said crumbling buildings, burst sewage pipes and rodents in hospitals were “completely unacceptable” and called for the Welsh government’s capital budget to be prioritised on clearing the maintenance backlog rather than promising new hospitals. Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar said his party would declare a health emergency and invest in extra capacity including new community hospitals, diagnostic centres and surgical hubs. The Welsh Liberal Democrats said they would prioritise upgrading the worst parts of the NHS estate, backing a replacement for the University Hospital of Wales while linking capital investment to reforms in social care. The Green Party called the backlog “a disgrace” and pledged a multi-year programme to bring existing facilities up to a safe, modern standard.
Whatever the complexion of the incoming Welsh government after May’s election, the NHS estate it inherits will present an immediate and expensive challenge.
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Campaigners warn existing sites need major upgrades after the new hospital plan was delayed by ten years.Glangwili to become regional hub as health bosses centralise emergency surgery and stroke services
Controversial plans approved by Hywel Dda will see Glangwili take on emergency surgery from across the region.Withybush Hospital declares major incident after concerns over building’s concrete structure
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Three wards at Withybush were closed after potentially defective RAAC concrete was discovered in the hospital’s structure. -
NHS DENTISTRY: Nine-year-old waited two years for treatment — then was seen within days after dentist used rapid advice service
A nine-year-old girl in west Wales waited nearly two years for orthodontic treatment after her referral was rejected — only to be seen within days once her dentist used a rapid specialist advice service to break through the delays.
The case, in the same week that Wales’s biggest dental shake-up in a generation came into force, illustrates the pressure already building across the NHS in west Wales — with dentists warning that long referral times are causing children to miss critical treatment windows.
Dr Christina Evans, a dentist in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area, described the case of a patient whose condition had been deteriorating while she waited for specialist care. The original referral had been rejected with advice to wait until the child had more permanent teeth. By the time Dr Evans saw her again, the situation had worsened significantly.
Dr Evans said she had not known what to do when the girl’s condition continued to deteriorate. “I had originally referred her nearly two years ago — but the referral was rejected with the comment: ‘Wait until the patient has more permanent teeth.’ More recently, I saw her again, and her condition was deteriorating. She was growing more, and the skeletal pattern was getting worse. I didn’t know what to do,” she said.
Concerned about missing the optimal window for treatment, Dr Evans turned to Consultant Connect — a telemedicine service that gives clinicians rapid access to specialist advice — and contacted an orthodontic specialist at Morriston Hospital directly.
She said: “I explained the situation and that I was worried about missing the window of opportunity for treatment.” The consultant responded immediately, advising that a referral would now be appropriate. Dr Evans submitted the referral and said: “The patient’s family received a call approximately two days after I sent the referral to make an appointment.”
She said the service had transformed her ability to act quickly for patients. “The advantage of Consultant Connect is that you can receive a response quickly, so you don’t need to delay treatment while waiting for a referral response. You can move forward confidently and treat the patient appropriately without unnecessary delay,” she said.
Across the Hywel Dda area, 74% of cases using the service avoid a hospital visit entirely — freeing up capacity in the system while getting patients the advice they need faster.
The case comes as NHS dentistry in Wales faces a period of significant upheaval. From this week, the Welsh Government’s new dental contract has come into force, bringing higher patient charges, longer intervals between check-ups, and warnings from dentists that the reforms risk pushing more practices out of the NHS altogether. Critics have argued the changes will make it harder, not easier, for patients to access timely care.
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The reforms that came into force this week — and why dentists are warning they could make things worse. -
Hywel Dda University Health Board Radiology nurse honoured with special award
The CNO Excellence Award is given to those within the midwifery and nursing workforce who go above and beyond their daily duties to provide excellent care, leadership, and inspiration.
Sharon Daniel, Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience, said:
“On behalf of the Health Board, I congratulate Angharad on this prestigious award and thank her for all she has done and continues to do in improving patient care and services within radiology.”
Angharad was presented with this accolade at the recent conference held in Cardiff for her work as lead Radiology Nurse. Since taking up the post in 2023, Angharad has successfully arranged for radiology departments to be recognised as placements for student nurses, playing a pivotal role in the development of key clinical pathways and protocols.
This has included the diagnostic coronary angiograms pathway and the standard operating procedure for temporary pacemakers. She has also developed a pilot for a standardised approach to nursing documentation through the introduction of the radiology nurse record.
Speaking after receiving the award, Angharad said:
“I am incredibly grateful to be recognised for the work I have done, and will continue to work on radiology service improvements, alongside my radiology colleagues.”
Sarah Procter, Deputy Head of Radiology at the Health Board said:
“I am delighted that Angharad has received this award. She exemplifies the qualities of an exceptional nursing leader, and I am proud she has been recognised for all the work she has done for our patients, staff, and the radiology service.”
[Lead image: Hywel Dda NHS]
#HywelDdaNHS #nursing #radiology