Introduction
Petition Number: P-06-1544
Petition title: Take urgent action to improve the NHS in West Wales, and address the crisis at Glangwili hospital
Text of petition: The reduction/closure of services at other Hywel Dda hospitals has caused a crisis at Glangwili.
Patients are having to travel huge distances to reach emergency care, increasing reliance on ambulances.
The CDU is no longer functional as a true Clinical Decisions Unit and is operating as a ward, with unwell patients being forced to sleep in chairs in the CDU or remain in A&E as there is no ward space to admit them.
The NHS staff are doing their best but the situation is untenable.
The text provided above is submitted by the petitioner. The petitions team make every effort to ensure it preserves their authentic voice. This text has not been verified for accuracy, or errors, and may contain unverified opinions or assertions.
Mae'r testun uchod yn cael ei gyflwyno gan y deisebydd. Mae'r tîm deisebau yn gwneud pob ymdrech i sicrhau ei fod yn cadw ei lais dilys. Nid yw'r testun hwn wedi'i wirio am gywirdeb, neu wallau, a gall gynnwys barn neu honiadau heb eu gwirio.
1. Background
Hywel Dda University Health Board (HDdUHB) is responsible for planning and delivering healthcare services in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire. It has four main hospitals:
§ Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth
§ Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen
§ Prince Philip Hospital in Llanelli
§ Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest
Service reductions at some of these hospitals has meant that some patients have been required to travel to Glangwili for treatment when they would previously have been treated elsewhere.
In November 2023, HDdUHB made the decision to permanently close the Paediatric Ambulatory Care Unit (PACU) at Withybush, meaning that children who would previously have been admitted to Withybush must now be taken to Glangwili. The decision followed what was initially announced as a temporary measure in 2021. In September 2024, children requiring more than 36-hours of hospital-based care also began to be transferred from Bronglais to Glangwili due to a shortage of children’s nurses, though these services have since resumed at Bronglais.
In November 2024, the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) at Prince Phillip was reduced from a 24-hour service to a daytime only service due to staffing shortages and patient safety concerns. Initially intended as a temporary measure for six months, the unit continues to operate with reduced hours. As the hospital does not have its own A&E department, HDdUHB has urged patients in need of urgent treatment to go to the nearest A&E at Glangwili or Morriston Hospital in Swansea. HDdUHB is currently reviewing responses to a public consultation on the MIU’s future.
HDdUHB is also reviewing responses to a public consultation on its Clinical Services Plan, which would result in some services being centralised at fewer hospitals. It has argued these changes are necessary as clinical teams are too widely dispersed across multiple sites, leading to an over-dependence on a limited number of staff.
Among the options under consideration are to close Intensive Care Units (ICUs) at Withybush and/or Prince Philip, with patients requiring specialist care stabilised locally before being transferred to Glangwili. In May 2025 it was reported that ICU staff from Prince Philip were already being redeployed before the consultation had concluded, and patients needing specialist care were being transferred to Glangwili by the Adult Critical Care Transfer Service (ACCTS).
2. Welsh Government action
The Welsh Government response to this petition emphasises that responsibility for planning and delivering healthcare services lies with Local Health Boards. It acknowledges there have been a number of changes made by HDdUHB, including a reduced service at the MIU at Prince Philip, but states these are matters for HDdUHB.
The response highlights the Six Goals for Urgent and Emergency Care National Programme, which has provided £12 million to HDdUHB over the last four years to improve urgent and emergency care. This has included support for the Same Day Urgent Care (SDUC) service at the Cardigan Integrated Health Centre, including the trial of a seven-day service to help ease pressure on hospital emergency departments. The SDUC returned to a five-day service in April 2025, though HDdUHB is currently assessing the potential impact of returning to a seven-day service.
3. Welsh Parliament action
The overnight closure of the MIU at Prince Philip has been raised by several Members of the Senedd in questions to the First Minister and to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care.
For example, on 1 October 2024 Lee Waters MS asked the First Minister whether she would call on HDdUHB to “think again” about the change. In response, the First Minister emphasised the importance of HDdUHB listening to the community and addressing staffing issues, but that there also needed to be a practical and realistic approach given the challenges.
The overnight closure of the MIU was also the subject of a petition first considered by the Petitions Committee at a meeting on 3 February 2025. The petition was kept open for six months to await the outcome of monitoring by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and HDdUHB.
Correspondence from the Cabinet Secretary relating to the petition was received by the Committee on 29 April 2025. It noted the ongoing public consultation and that HDdUHB had indicated the closure had not significantly affected emergency departments elsewhere.
On 12 May 2025, the Committee agreed to keep the petition open pending the consultation’s outcome.
Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this briefing is correct at the time of publication. Readers should be aware that these briefings are not necessarily updated or otherwise amended to reflect subsequent changes.