Public feedback to inform Hywel Dda’s long-term strategy for healthcare delivery

NEARLY 2,000 people across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire have shared their views on what matters most for living a healthy life, as part of a major public engagement exercise by Hywel Dda University Health Board.

Over a nine-week period, residents were invited to respond to eleven key questions exploring how people stay well, how they access healthcare, and what improvements they would like to see in services, buildings and digital provision. The questions were shaped around feedback gathered from community members earlier in the summer.

The engagement focused on four main themes: a social model for health and wellbeing, digital healthcare support, balancing hospital care with community-based services, and priorities for clinical services and hospital redevelopment.

The feedback will be shared in January and used to inform a refreshed long-term strategy for the Health Board, setting out how safe, sustainable and accessible services will be delivered over the next fifteen years. While the strategy will be updated to reflect changes in clinical practice, technology and how people use health services, the Health Board says its overall ambitions remain unchanged from those set out in the original Healthier Mid and West Wales strategy in 2018.

Lee Davies, Executive Director of Strategy and Planning at Hywel Dda, said the process was about refinement rather than a change in direction.

He said: “Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to share their views. The direction of travel remains as per our 2018 strategy, so we want to reassure people that this is not a radical change of direction but rather a refinement in how we deliver the strategy. Your feedback is helping us reshape our strategy so that it continues to reflect the priorities of the people we serve, and the changes in clinical practice.”

During the engagement, many respondents highlighted the importance of strong communities, with families, friends and local support networks seen as key to helping people stay well and connected. Timely access to GP services was also raised as a priority, alongside concerns about travel to appointments, particularly in rural areas where public transport options can be limited.

Digital healthcare was another recurring theme, with people calling for online services to be simple, inclusive and accessible, while recognising that not everyone has access to technology or the same digital skills.

At its public Board meeting in November, Hywel Dda University Health Board considered progress on refreshing the strategy and received updates on the development of a new Primary and Community Care Strategic Plan. That plan, which has been shaped through further public engagement including in-person and online events and an online questionnaire, is due to be presented to the Board in January 2026.

The Primary and Community Care plan will set the overall direction for services delivered outside hospital settings and support locally-led plans for how care is provided in individual communities.

The Board also discussed a request from the Welsh Government for an addendum to the Health Board’s 2022 Programme Business Case. This will explore additional options for improving healthcare estates, including whether new facilities could help address existing infrastructure problems. It will also consider how local plans align with the national strategy, A Healthier Wales, which aims to shift more care into community settings and closer to people’s homes.

A draft version of the refreshed strategy is expected to be presented to the Board in January 2026 for approval. Once agreed, it will be published in accessible formats, with the Health Board saying communities will continue to be involved as plans move forward.

Further information about the engagement process and updates on the strategy are available through the Health Board’s public consultation platform.

New Catholic leader for England and Wales to work closely with Welsh dioceses

BISHOP Richard Moth has been appointed Archbishop of Westminster, the most senior Catholic role covering England and Wales.

The appointment was confirmed by the Vatican, with Bishop Moth paying tribute to his predecessor and outlining his priorities as he prepares to take up the post.

He said: “I am moved greatly by the trust that Pope Leo has placed in me, in appointing me to the Diocese of Westminster. As I prepare to move to the Diocese, I am so grateful for the support being given to me by Cardinal Vincent Nichols at this time. He has given dedicated service to the Diocese and will be missed greatly.”

Reflecting on his current role, Bishop Moth said serving the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton over the past ten years had been a “wonderful opportunity” to share the Church’s mission with both clergy and lay faithful.

“My first task will be to get to know the priests and people of Westminster and I look forward, now, to serving them,” he said. “With them, and building on the firm foundations that have been laid by so many down the years, I look forward to continuing the great adventure that is the life of the Church and witness to the Gospel.”

In Wales, the Catholic Church is organised through the dioceses of Cardiff, Wrexham and Menevia. As Archbishop of Westminster, Bishop Moth will work alongside Welsh bishops to help guide the Church, coordinate national priorities and represent Welsh Catholics on social and ethical matters.

He succeeds Cardinal Vincent Nichols, who has retired after more than ten years in the role.

Bishop Moth is widely known for his emphasis on welcoming and inclusion within the Church. He has encouraged parishes to support vulnerable people, including those affected by the criminal justice system, and to help migrants and refugees feel part of local communities.

As Chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Social Justice, he has backed initiatives such as working with the prison charity Pact to support offenders and their families, celebrating Masses for migrants, and speaking out on issues including child poverty and human dignity.

For Wales, his appointment means a new senior Church figure will help coordinate national priorities while supporting local bishops, who will continue to manage day-to-day diocesan activity. Catholic schools, charities and parish groups across Wales are expected to reflect his focus on inclusion and community engagement in their work.

Bishop Moth is expected to formally take up the role in early 2026.

A WOMAN and her lover have been jailed after conspiring to murder her husband of ten years so they could continue their affair.

Michelle Mills and Geraint Berry, both aged 46, were each sentenced to 19 years’ imprisonment at Swansea Crown Court after a jury found them guilty of plotting to kill Christopher Mills in a plan intended to make his death appear as a suicide.

The conspiracy was uncovered after Mr Mills, 55, an ex-serviceman, fought back during a late-night ambush at a caravan the couple were staying in at Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, on Friday, September 20, 2024.

Berry, assisted by Steven Thomas, forced entry into the caravan armed with imitation firearms, gas masks and cable ties. A pre-prepared suicide note falsely purporting to have been written by Mr Mills was later recovered by police.

The attack failed when Mr Mills defended himself, managing to disarm the intruders and forcing them to flee on foot.

Armed response officers, police dog units and the National Police Air Service were deployed. Berry and Thomas were arrested shortly afterwards after being spotted hiding in bushes by a police helicopter.

The incident was initially reported to Dyfed-Powys Police by Michelle Mills, who claimed to be unaware of any motive for her husband to be targeted. At first, officers treated the matter as an aggravated burglary.

However, detectives quickly became suspicious.

Detective Inspector Sam Gregory, of Ceredigion CID said: “We had a report of two masked men attempting to gain access to a caravan and assaulting the owner. On the surface, it appeared the case would be fairly straightforward.

“However, when Berry and Thomas were searched, officers found gas masks, imitation firearms and, most disturbingly, a typed suicide note said to have been written by Christopher Mills.”

The investigation was escalated to CID, where digital forensic enquiries uncovered extensive communication between Mrs Mills and Berry revealing a long-running affair and detailed plans to murder her husband.

Messages exchanged from August 2024 onwards showed the pair discussing multiple methods of killing Mr Mills, including suffocating him while he slept, overdosing him on sleeping tablets, poisoning his food with antifreeze or foxglove, and staging an explosion in his car.

Berry also contacted an associate asking how to obtain a firearm with a suppressor and how to make a vehicle explode when the ignition was started.

The court heard there were two aborted attempts to ambush Mr Mills at the caravan on August 28 and 29, with Berry injuring his knee during one failed attempt.

On the third attempt, Mrs Mills told Berry she would encourage her husband to drink alcohol so he would fall asleep. Messages showed Berry informing her he had arrived at the holiday park moments before the attackers burst into the caravan.

Immediately after the men fled, Mrs Mills sent Berry messages urging him to escape, delete communications and expressing affection, despite her husband having just been assaulted.

Mrs Mills was later arrested at her home in Maes Ty Gwyn, Llwynhendy. Despite denying involvement, she told an arresting officer she would be “going to jail for this”.

DI Gregory said: “From start to finish, Mrs Mills denied any involvement. She initially claimed she did not know the attackers, and later said she believed the messages were just fantasy.

“At no point did she attempt to stop Berry or tell him she did not want the plans to go ahead. Her only concern was not getting caught.”

Sentencing the pair, Mr Justice Nicklin said the plot involved “significant planning and premeditation”, despite being “poorly executed”, and placed Mr Mills’ life at genuine risk.

The court heard victim impact evidence describing how the attack had “pretty much ruined” Mr Mills’ life, leaving him suffering flashbacks and long-term psychological harm.

Mrs Mills was also sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment for perverting the course of justice, to be served concurrently with her 19-year sentence. Berry received a concurrent 18-month sentence for possession of an imitation firearm.

Steven Thomas, aged 47, of Clos Coffa, Clydach, was found not guilty of conspiracy to murder but had previously admitted possessing a firearm with intent to cause Christopher Mills to believe unlawful violence would be used against him. He was sentenced to 12 months in custody, with time already served on remand taken into account.

The judge said there had been an element of coercion or exploitation by Berry in relation to Thomas, who expressed remorse for his actions.

DI Gregory added: “It is easy to focus on the dramatic details of this case and forget there is a real victim. Mr Mills’ life was genuinely at risk, and the person he should have been able to trust the most was behind the plot.

“He has shown remarkable strength and courage throughout this investigation, and I hope he can now move forward and begin to process what he has endured.

“Despite their claims that this was fantasy, the evidence showed the conspiracy was real, calculated and repeated. Mills and Berry showed no remorse for the devastation they caused.”