08.08.12
Welsh service reorganisation to see £40m investment
Hywel Dda Health Board has defended proposals to reorganise NHS services in mid and west Wales, after critics opposed plans to close three community hospitals in Mynydd Mawr, Tregaron and Aberaeron.
The health board has stated that £40m will be invested in new services, and the reorganisation will provide better quality of care for patients.
The proposals, announced on Monday, would see the development of cardiology services in Glangwili hospital and an orthapaedic ‘centre of excellence’ planned in the south of the area.
New centres have been proposed in Aberaeron, Cross Hands, Crymych and Whitland, and extended mental health services, with a psychiatric initial assessment and intensive care unit planned for Carmarthen.
A spokesperson for the health board said: “Our vision is quite simple – to provide integrated health care with 80% of NHS services provided locally, through primary, community and social care teams working together.
“This will mean access to diagnostic tests, such as X-rays, blood tests and scans, and also a range of outpatient and specialist services that were previously only available in hospital.”
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