The consultation that could take the stroke beds out of Prince Philip Hospital closed on Sunday night.
What happens next is a four-month wait. The Hywel Dda board takes the decision on 26 November.
Under the option the health board has put forward, Glangwili in Carmarthen becomes the only hospital in west Wales with a 24-hour acute stroke unit.
Prince Philip and Withybush in Haverfordwest would become “treat and transfer” sites. Bronglais in Aberystwyth keeps a rehabilitation unit and also treats and transfers.
In plain terms, if you live in Llanelli: you would still be taken to Prince Philip and assessed there. The ward stay and the recovery would happen in Carmarthen.
Call 999. That does not change.
The health board used Sunday’s announcement to answer the question it says came up most often across the eight weeks.
Medical director Mark Henwood said people should not hesitate. “I want to reiterate that if you think someone is having a stroke, you should seek help immediately by calling 999.”
He was explicit that the ambulance destination is not changing. “Now, and in the future, patients will continue to be taken to the nearest appropriate hospital for urgent assessment and treatment.”
Patients who need a thrombectomy, the procedure to physically remove a clot, will keep going to specialist centres in Bristol or Cardiff. That is already the case today.
A late rush of responses, after a slow start in Carmarthenshire
The second phase opened on 28 May. The board says it has now had more than 700 questionnaire responses and spoke to over 3,000 people at more than 120 events, meetings and online sessions.
That is a sharp pick-up at the end. Board papers published for this Thursday’s meeting recorded 349 questionnaire responses and 1,360 people engaged at the consultation’s mid-point.
Those same papers flagged that participation had been “lower in Carmarthenshire and among younger people”. Independent quality assurers also noted the board’s open reporting of negative public sentiment, including mistrust in the process itself.
Llanelli has been the loudest voice. It is not losing everything.
Llanelli Town Council called in June for the Prince Philip stroke unit to be built up into a centre of excellence rather than scaled back.
Stroke is not the only Prince Philip service in the frame. The same set of board papers proposes moving the region’s only mental health crisis suite from the hospital to Carmarthen.
The hospital does gain elsewhere. Under the wider Clinical Services Plan, board papers list dermatology consolidation, urology services and a urological investigations unit, an extra endoscopy room, seven-day radiology and a new enhanced care unit at Prince Philip.
The board’s case for change is that stroke care is currently spread across all four main hospitals, does not consistently meet national clinical standards, and has no specialist cover 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
It argues patients do better in specialist units with expert teams and equipment available round the clock.
What happens between now and November
The feedback now goes into what the board calls “conscientious consideration”, a process based on the Gunning Principles that governs how public bodies must weigh consultation responses before deciding.
Responses from this phase will be read alongside the 2025 feedback, clinical evidence, data and updated impact assessments.
Henwood said nothing had been settled. “We would like to reassure people that no decisions have been made.”
On the travel worries that ran through the consultation, he said work with the Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust was continuing. “Any future transport arrangements will be carefully planned and modelled to support patients’ needs while protecting emergency ambulance capacity.”
A full report on the findings goes to the November board meeting, where the decision will be made. If change is approved, it will be phased in.
Anyone wanting the final reports can join the health board’s Siarad Iechyd / Talking Health scheme by emailing hyweldda.engagement@wales.nhs.uk or calling 0300 303 8322, option 5.
