With Hywel Dda University Health Board set to make major decisions this month about the future of nine hospital services included in its ‘Clinical Services Plan’ - the people of Pembrokeshire remain deeply worried about what these proposals could mean for Withybush Hospital - which has already lost vital services in recent years.

With an Extraordinary Board due to take place on February 18 and 19, the services under review include - critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

The Health Board has said the services are ‘fragile’ - citing workforce pressures, recruitment difficulties, ageing hospital estates and the need to meet new clinical standards.

Local Welsh Conservative Senedd Members Paul Davies and Samuel Kurtz have warned that any decision which undermines the future of A&E services at Withybush Hospital would be “wholly unacceptable”, ahead of a crucial Hywel Dda University Health Board meeting in February.

Paul Davies Senedd Member for Preseli Pembrokeshire, joined by Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire Senedd Member, said Withybush Hospital must be protected as a vital lifeline for Pembrokeshire, and that communities are deeply concerned about the potential consequences of the Health Board’s proposals.

More than 4,000 people took part in the recent consultation through questionnaires, public events, staff meetings and stakeholder sessions.

However, serious concerns remain locally that the proposals could lead to further downgrading of services at Withybush Hospital, which has already lost a number of key services in recent years.

Paul Davies remarked: “People in Pembrokeshire are deeply worried about what these proposals could mean for Withybush Hospital. Over many years, we have seen a gradual erosion of services, and communities are understandably anxious that this process will continue.

“Withybush Hospital is not a ‘nice to have’ — it is a vital lifeline for a large, rural population. Any changes must strengthen services in Pembrokeshire, not weaken them. I will not support decisions that place patients at greater risk or force them to travel unreasonable distances for essential care.

“Let’s not forget that Welsh Labour figures Eluned Morgan and Mark Drakeford, both former Health Ministers, allowed this situation to develop on their watch.

“We will be watching the outcome of this meeting very closely. Withybush Hospital is vital to Pembrokeshire and it must be properly supported — not hollowed out,” he concluded.

Samuel Kurtz continued: “People in Pembrokeshire have heard this story before. Time and again, we are told services are fragile, and the result is that Withybush loses out.

“The loss of SCBU, consultant-led maternity and children’s A&E is still deeply felt locally. The removal of one service often makes others unviable, and that is exactly what people are worried about now.

“Any decision that threatens the long-term viability of A&E at Withybush Hospital is a red line. It would be wholly unacceptable and would be met with fierce opposition from the community.”

Mr Kurtz also stressed that rurality, transport challenges and ambulance pressures must be central to decision-making, not treated as secondary considerations.

“Pembrokeshire is a rural county. Asking patients to travel further for emergency or urgent care is not a theoretical issue — it affects safety, outcomes, families and staff,” he added.

“There is also deep frustration that these decisions continue to be made in the shadow of the so-called ‘super hospital’ elsewhere in west Wales, which has never come to fruition.

“Pembrokeshire cannot be left with a slow erosion of services while waiting for something that may not materialise for a decade or more.”

Tenby’s county councillor for the north ward, Cllr Michael Williams, who represents Plaid Cymru on the Local Authority, claimed in recent months that the people of Pembrokeshire have been led a ‘merry dance’ into believing that a new ‘super hospital’ could be built anytime soon within the Hywel Dda area.

An original strategy published back in 2018 outlined that construction of a new hospital could be completed by 2029, with plans to repurpose Withybush Hospital and Carmarthen’s Glangwili General Hospital.

However, when Cllr Williams raised the matter in a meeting back in the summer between Pembrokeshire County Council and Hywel Dda’s Chief Executive of the Health Board, Professor Philip Kloer, where he asked what budget had been identified for a scoping programme for any new hospital, and under what Welsh Government budget heading could the estimated capital cost of £1.3 Billion be found, the response he was given confirmed that there was no prospect of this materializing in the next ten to fifteen years due to ‘changing economic circumstances’.

“So just when did ‘Economic circumstances’ change? The Labour Welsh Government’s First Minister announces ‘record levels of funding’ for the health service, but in fact we see health service inflation at just over 2% and Hywel Dda Health Board receiving an increase of 1.3% in its budget. So can we continue to expect a reduction in service?” Cllr Williams remarked at the time.

“Is it any wonder that there is what can only be described as consultation fatigue when until very recently the carrot of this mythical new hospital was being dangled in front of the public?”

“Once again, we witness a complete lack of any strategic vision from the Health Board together with chronic underfunding of our health services,” he added.

Fellow county councillor, Rhys Jordan, who represents the St Mary Out Liberty [New Hedges] and St Florence wards on Pembrokeshire County Council, also waded in with criticism of the Health Board, stating: “Hywel Dda Health Board’s treatment of Pembrokeshire is an utter disgrace. For years, they’ve distracted residents with the hollow promise of a ‘super hospital’ - all while ignoring the overwhelming calls to invest in Withybush and retain vital services locally,” he stated.

“Now, as Withybush literally crumbles, they appear to be backtracking leaving communities anxious, underserved, and fed up.I feel enormous sympathy for the dedicated frontline staff who continue to show up and give their all, day in and day out.

“They’re doing their best under impossible pressure, created not by patients, but by a failing health board and a Welsh Government unwilling to face reality.”

The Health Board says its strategy refresh is about adapting to the changing health needs of the population, demographic changes, and long-term workforce projections.

In its recent consultation held on ‘Clinical Services and Hospital Redevelopment’ - there was one question under this key theme, which was ‘if we secure funding to improve healthcare buildings and facilities, especially at sites most in need of repair – what would you like us to prioritise and what concerns should we work through together as those changes take place?’

In the public responses, this was the feedback given: ‘people told us that they want to see improvement across all our estate and services with all acute hospitals were specifically mentioned (Bronglais, Glangwili, Withybush and Prince Philip). People are concerned about the need to bring services together further away from where they currently access services and the travel impacts as a result.’

With reports of Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen - the biggest hospital managed by Hywel Dda University Health Board in a state of crisis - with claims of patients being forced to sleep for hours in chairs because wards are too full, is it any wonder that the people of West Wales are concerned about what future lies ahead for health care and services in the locality.

Indeed, many members of the public have been havng their say on social media, as the Health Board’s Extraordinary Meeting looms, with many across Pembrokeshire’s communities, concerned about the distances they already have to travel to access services and receive treatment.

“Do any of the people who make the decisions for Withybush and the services that it provides actually go and drive the distances between Haverfordwest/Carmarthen/Cardigan on a very busy day for traffic, or days when the weather is terrible and the roads get flooded etc, or when there is a traffic accident and the traffic is at a standstill,” asked Anne Elliott.

Jane Edwards warned: “Withybush is very much needed as not everyone is either well enough or can can travel to Carmarthen, which is already under pressure.”

Arlene Haynes also focused on travel issues, remarking: “Not everyone has transport to travel further. Patients, parents with sick babies and children, pregnant ladies, the elderly should not have to, especially in an emergency.

“We have refineries around us, fishing vessels, that have crews on them, tankers that may need assistance out at sea, accidents on the roads going that way. It’s not right that it is being considered to take things away, you are putting peoples lives in a life or death situation!”

Louise Cozier commented: “I had to travel from a village near Clunderwen to Llanelli for a check on a pre-cancerous spot. I am elderly and could not have gone without my family taking me.”

Caroline Colella of Goodwick said: “We have an ageing population, myself included. I've had to go to A&E twice in the last three months. There's no way I could have driven. I wouldn't want my elderly husband to drive even further than Haverfordwest, under extreme stress and poor weather conditions, it would become dangerous. Getting an ambulance is like winning the lottery!”

Jen Crick added: “The other night I had to take my husband to A&E in Glangwili [Carmarthen]. He was very unwell but as they do not have a urology department in Withybush anymore. We had no choice. We had to drive up in the middle of the night!

“His treatment at Glangwili was excellent. But even the receptionist is horrified that we’d had to travel so far. She told us a lot of people had travelled up from Pembrokeshire that evening for the same reason. We need services at Withybush.”

In its recently published - ‘Refreshing the ‘A Healthier Mid and West Wales’ Strategy report, Hywel Dda Health Board says its aim is to revise the strategic vision and goals of the organisation up to 2040.

The report states: “The health system in mid and west Wales has for many years faced serious challenges across workforce, finance, estate and service sustainability. This stems from a combination of factors, present across the whole of the NHS, but particularly evident in Hywel Dda.

“This includes outdated ways of delivering care across hospitals, an over-reliance on acute hospital beds, challenges in attracting staff to west Wales, an under-investment in the Health Board’s estate and digital infrastructure and challenges with providing services to a population spread over a large, mainly rural, area.

“The need for change remains clear, and our refreshed strategy will need to focus on the 'who' will deliver, starting with the people who live in our communities,” the report continues.

By 2040 the Health Board states that its plan will see a ‘significant improvement’ in the health of the population in west Wales, with a sharp reduction in obesity rates, reduced alcohol intake, healthier eating and a continuation in the decline of smoking.

“Clusters will be highly influential in the design of services and the allocation of our resources, facilitating a shift from hospital based care to care in communities,” the report continues.

“Whilst primary and community care will have expanded, hospital services will shrink, as a result of the reduced reliance on acute care and the shift to community. Patients will only access specialist care when it is required and for the shortest possible period of time.

“The number of patients accessing Emergency Departments, for example, will have fallen by 75% as more appropriate alternatives are developed and whilst the number of hospital beds are approximately the same (reflecting the additional demand from an ageing population), the number of patients with very long hospital stays will have reduced significantly due to the increased community and social care provision.

“The Health Board’s estate will be modernised with a network of community hubs supporting the shift to a community model, improvements to Bronglais and Prince Philip sites, a repurposing of Withybush and a new central hospital for the south of Hywel Dda.”