Share your views on children and young people’s services

Deadline approaches to submit your views about Hywel Dda University Health Board’s consultation on urgent and emergency children and young people’s paediatric services at Withybush and Glangwili hospitals.

There are now less than two weeks remaining to share your views on urgent and emergency children and young people’s paediatric services at Withybush and Glangwili hospitals. From the 26 May this year, and ending on the 24 August 2023, Hywel Dda University Health Board has invited staff, service users, volunteers, members of the public, and partner organisations, to share their views on how best to provide these services, following a series of temporary changes made since 2016. This is part of the health board’s wider strategy to improve health and care in the region.

Following the temporary changes to paediatric services made since 2016, we now need to implement a longer-term solution that will be in place until the proposed new urgent and planned care hospital is developed. We have worked with our clinical and paediatric teams to identify the options for the services in the future and have three options that we would like your views on. At this stage, we do not have a preferred option for how urgent and emergency paediatric services at Withybush Hospital and Glangwili Hospital will be delivered.

For all three options, it is important to note that access to children’s emergency care will be retained at Glangwili Hospital’s emergency department, and minor injuries for children will continue to be treated at both Withybush and Glangwili hospitals. Before making any final decisions, the Board will consider all your feedback at the Board meeting towards the end of 2023 alongside all other evidence and relevant information collated during the process so far.

Lee Davies, Hywel Dda University Health Board Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, explains: “A number of in-person and online consultation events have been hosted across our health board locations, and we would like to thank everyone who has already participated. As the consultation period draws to a close, we would like to ensure we capture feedback from as many people as possible in our communities and encourage individuals and organisations to complete our questionnaire before 24 August.”

Details of the consultation, including copies of the consultation documents in a range of formats, and details of how to share your views, are available on the Health Board’s website: https://hduhb.nhs.wales/about-us/healthier-mid-and-west-wales/future-children-services/questionnaire/