In November, Mr. Brian Gibbons, Minister for Health and Social Services, called for the establishment of a Planning Forum for Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire to advise NHS organisations on the future shape of health services across the three counties. The first meeting of the Three Counties Planning Forum took place on February 27. The membership includes representatives of Community Health Councils, NHS Trusts, Local Health Boards, General Practitioners, local authorities and other organisations interested in the provision of health care in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. Members of the Forum endorsed the appointment of Dr. Bruce Ferguson, medical director of Bro Morgannwg NHS Trust, as the chair of the Forum. It was considered that his clinical leadership, independence of service delivery in the area and personal experience of leading service improvement was particularly valuable to this work and the members wished this endorsement to be made known to the wider public. The purpose, membership and terms of reference of the forum were agreed, as was an accountability framework for the work and the conduct of further meetings. These will be held in public and will rotate between the three counties. The members decided that community services, transport and access would be among the first issues to be considered due to their prominence in future service delivery. These priorities are also consistent with the feedback from members of the public in the recent consultation on acute services. Other clinical services to be reviewed in the early stages of the work of the Planning Forum will be announced soon. A number of service groups will be set up to take this forward. Dr. Ferguson said: "This is a very positive start to the work of the Three Counties Planning Forum which provides a new opportunity to consider how services can be better organised and delivered in the future, building on the strengths of the existing general hospitals. I was pleased to see so many key people present and taking part in such an open and honest discussion. I feel confident that we will be able to work together to explore new ways of delivering health services that will provide the very best possible care for the people of West Wales." Bernardine Rees, who is leading the work, said: "The first meeting of the Planning Forum was very constructive and agreement was reached on a number of important issues. We now have a firm platform from which we will move this work forward with the people in West Wales." Mrs. Rees also emphasised: "It is important that we do not confuse the work of the Three Counties Planning Forum with separate discussions that will be taking place later this year regarding organisational structures. The work of the forum is very much focused on the delivery of world-class health services for our local populations and will continue irrespective of any changes in organisational arrangements."
