#hywelddanhs — Public Fediverse posts

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.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Councillor warns against further service losses in Llanelli amid health board consultation
Independent councillor Sean Rees says Prince Philip Hospital cannot afford to lose more services as the Clinical Services Plan consultation continues.

Llanelli’s minor injuries unit to become 12-hour urgent care treatment centre — no return to 24-hour service
Hywel Dda confirms the MIU will not return to round-the-clock opening as part of its Clinical Services Plan decisions.

Hywel Dda to explore more than 100 new ideas for local health services
The health board received 4,000 responses and more than 100 new ideas as part of its Clinical Services Plan consultation.

Calls grow for urgent investment in west Wales hospitals as new-build plan pushed back a decade
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
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
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
Our original report when the closure threat first emerged.

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.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

NHS dentistry in crisis: Charges rocket and appointments become rarer as Wales’s biggest dental shake-up in a generation kicks in today
The reforms that came into force this week — and why dentists are warning they could make things worse.