HYWEL DDA UNIVERSITY HEALTH BOARD will hold an Extraordinary Board meeting over two days next month to consider the future model for nine key services included in its Clinical Services Plan.

The meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 18 and Thursday, February 19, 2026, and will focus on options for change in critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

The Health Board recently consulted with local communities on proposals designed to tackle service fragilities, improve standards and reduce waiting times for people needing diagnosis and treatment.

Mark Henwood, Executive Medical Director, said the current model cannot continue.

“We know that these services are fragile and cannot continue as they are. Our clinical teams are spread across multiple sites and recruitment is an issue across the NHS,” he said.

“Our hospitals require ongoing maintenance, with some parts approaching or having reached the end of their intended lifespan. We need to make decisions on the changes needed to address these fragilities, so our services raise standards and meet the needs of our population into the future.”

An independent consultation report prepared by Opinion Research Services (ORS) has now been received and is available on the Health Board’s website. The report summarises feedback from the public consultation, including more than 4,000 questionnaire responses, alongside views gathered at public events, staff meetings and stakeholder sessions. More than 4,000 people also attended Health Board events and meetings during the consultation.

At the February meeting, Board members will consider the ORS report alongside a wider evidence pack, including an update on what has changed since the Issues Paper was published in March 2024. The Issues Paper set out the challenges facing the nine services and why change was needed. The update brings together the latest information on workforce and service resilience, the condition of estates, operational pressures, regional working, new clinical standards and how services link to each other.

The Board will also review refreshed impact assessments, which set out the likely effects of the proposed changes on people, services and the environment, and how negative impacts could be reduced. These include Equality Impact Assessments (EqIAs), looking at the impact on people with protected characteristics and Welsh language needs, and Quality Impact Assessments (QIAs), considering patient safety, effectiveness and experience.

Health, environmental and climate sustainability impacts will also be considered, alongside transport analysis for emergency transfers and non-emergency patient transport, and programme assessments covering capital requirements, workforce and finance.

As part of the decision-making process, proposals will be assessed on whether they are clinically sustainable, deliverable, accessible, aligned with the Health Board’s long-term strategy, and financially sustainable.

In some cases, the Board may make provisional decisions which require further engagement or additional information before a final option is agreed. The Board will also consider how any changes could be implemented and whether this would need to happen in phases.

The Health Board said it has worked with clinical leaders to develop the options, and that consultation feedback is a vital part of the process. Alongside the options consulted on, Board members will also consider alternative ideas put forward during the consultation.

Dr Neil Wooding, Chair of Hywel Dda University Health Board, thanked those who took part.

“Thank you to everyone who shared their views during the consultation. The Board will be carefully considering the independent ORS consultation report alongside the latest evidence and impact assessments,” he said.

“The consultation report provides an important foundation for our discussions, but it is one of several factors that we must consider. We have a responsibility to weigh public feedback together with clinical evidence, workforce considerations, sustainability challenges and the need for services to meet the highest possible standards.”

“These decisions will shape our services for the longer term, so it is essential that we take the time needed to reach well informed, balanced conclusions. Above all, we must ensure that the services we provide meet people’s needs, both now and into the future.”

Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, said the aim of the plan is to strengthen services and improve outcomes.

“Community and staff feedback helps us focus on what matters most to people, while programme assessments show what is practical and safe to deliver,” he said. “Together, we will identify changes we can make now, those that need more detailed planning and where further engagement is the right next step.”

The Extraordinary Board meeting will be broadcast online. Board papers and a link to the meeting will be published on the Health Board’s website a week in advance.

More information on the Clinical Services Plan, including the full ORS report, is available on the Health Board’s website.

WELSH LABOUR says more than 1,000 school support staff in Pembrokeshire could see a pay boost if the party forms the next Welsh Government after the Senedd election in May.

First Minister Eluned Morgan is due to make the commitment at UNISON’s Labour Link conference in Cardiff on Saturday (Jan 24), after visiting a Cardiff school on Friday (Jan 23) with Education Secretary Lynne Neagle to discuss the proposal with support staff and the headteacher.

The pledge centres on ending “term-time only” pay arrangements for school support staff by moving to year-round pay, alongside creating a School Support Staff Negotiating Body in law to set national frameworks for pay, conditions and training.

Welsh Labour says the plan would cover a wide range of roles, including teaching assistants, administrative staff, caretakers, lunchtime supervisors and others who help keep schools running day to day.

Figures quoted in the party’s briefing, drawn from a recent UNISON report, suggest there are 1,090 school support staff in Pembrokeshire, with 92% of the workforce said to be women. The same report notes the number does not include cleaning, catering and grounds staff, meaning the total number affected could be higher.

Supporters of the plan argue it would tackle in-work poverty among staff who carry responsibility in schools but are often on low wages and insecure arrangements.

In her prepared speech, Ms Morgan is expected to say school support staff are “the backbone” of the education system and that it is “not fair” so many are among the lowest-paid public sector workers and are not paid year-round. Ms Neagle said Labour would boost pay and broaden opportunities, adding that “standing side by side with trade unions is at the heart of the Labour Party”.

UNISON Cymru regional secretary Jess Turner welcomed the pledge, saying term-time only pay means “tens of thousands” of workers endure in-work poverty despite being essential to education, while a Cardiff-based higher level teaching assistant, Cath Rowlands, said support roles have changed “dramatically” but pay and conditions have not kept pace.

However, the announcement is also likely to raise questions about cost, implementation and timing — and whether councils and schools would receive additional funding to meet any new national settlement.

Education budgets in Wales remain under pressure, with local authorities and headteachers already warning about difficult financial decisions, including staffing reductions, as they balance rising costs with tight settlements. Critics may argue that any new pay commitment would need clear costings, a delivery timetable, and guarantees that schools would not be forced to make cuts elsewhere to meet higher wage bills.

There may also be scrutiny over how quickly a new negotiating body could be set up in law, and whether it would apply uniformly across Wales or allow for local flexibility.

Welsh Labour has linked the proposal to a wider “fair work” package, including a promise to update the Welsh Government’s Economic Contract so that businesses receiving Welsh Government support must pay the Real Living Wage, curb exploitative zero-hours contracts and recognise trade unions.

The school staff pledge is the second major policy announcement highlighted by the party this month, following its proposal for a £2 cap on adult bus fares and 100 new routes.

The Herald has asked Pembrokeshire County Council for comment on how many staff locally are currently on term-time only arrangements, and what the potential cost implications could be for schools and the local authority if a year-round pay model were introduced.

THE WELSH LIBERAL DEMOCRATS have criticised Labour after the UK Government rejected rail devolution for Wales during Committee scrutiny of the Railways Bill — just days after First Minister Eluned Morgan promised a “new era of devolution”.

An amendment tabled by Welsh Liberal Democrat Westminster spokesperson David Chadwick MP would remove rail transport from the list of powers reserved to Westminster. It would require the UK Government to transfer responsibility for rail infrastructure, investment and long-term strategy in Wales to Welsh Ministers within two years, placing Wales on the same constitutional footing as Scotland.

However, during the Committee debate, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Transport Keir Mather said the Government does not support devolving rail powers to Wales through the legislation. He argued the Bill is intended to create a single, integrated framework for the rail network across England and Wales, warning that introducing new statutory boundaries could risk fragmentation.

The Minister said cross-border services and infrastructure interfaces are better managed through partnership working and a memorandum of understanding between the UK and Welsh Governments, rather than through a statutory transfer of powers.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats disputed that argument, saying it is hard to justify given that Scotland already exercises statutory rail powers within the same UK rail network and manages cross-border services under that system.

At the same session, Andrew Ranger MP, the Welsh Labour MP for Wrexham, argued against including the amendment in the Bill. He urged the Committee to “work with the situation as it stands now”, again pointing to partnership working and the proposed memorandum.

The Liberal Democrats said the debate exposed a contradiction in Welsh Labour’s position. They note that earlier this week the First Minister promised a “new era of devolution”, including the devolution of rail, should Labour win the 2026 Senedd election. But, they argue, when Parliament had the opportunity to support rail devolution now, Labour Ministers rejected it and Welsh Labour MPs did not back the proposal or table an alternative.

Commenting, David Chadwick MP said: “Labour Ministers have now put it on the record that they do not support devolving rail to Wales. That tells you everything you need to know about how seriously Labour takes devolution when it actually matters.

“The First Minister speaks about a ‘new era of devolution’, but she can’t even get her own MPs to back her. Everything outlined in her speech is empty rhetoric unless that changes.

“Scotland already has these powers. Wales does not. Until Labour matches words with action, Wales will continue to be short-changed by billions of pounds, depriving communities of much-needed transport investment.”