THE second of three ‘transforming clinical services’ events was held in Roch yesterday as Hywel Dda Health Board readies for future changes to services across its patch.

Billed as a “big conversation about our local NHS” patients, public, staff and stakeholders were invited to an event in each of the counties covered by Hywel Dda.

It states that due to challenges such as the cost of fragile services being sustained by temporary workforces, geography and an ageing population there is “no choice but to do things differently in the future”.

Bernardine Rees, health board chairman, told those gathered on Tuesday (July 18): “We can’t be parochial, we’ve got to have a strategy that actually meets future generations”.

Medical director Dr Phil Kloer, who is also director of clinical strategy, said the meetings were about “hearing your views on our emerging thinking”.

He added: “I have spent the last nine months with senior clinical leads considering the significant challenges that face us in this area and across the UK at the moment and looking forward to the future.”

Changes to services are to be made in out of hospital care, urgent and emergency care and planned care.

Four key things where the health board said it “must do better” are quality of care, meeting the changing needs of patients, making resources go further and joining up services.

Those in attendance were asked to sit in groups and discuss each care area, examining what ‘good service looked like’ and state any ideas or improvements that they thought could be made.

The plan was to collate people’s opinions and incorporate it into the health board’s future thinking on what changes will be made with a focus on “safe, sustainable, accessible and kind”.

A similar public "workshop" was hosted by Hwylus, an independent research company, gathering views on the proposed changes to the delivery of mental health services within Hywel Dda was held in Crundale today (Wednesday).

Fill out a questionnaire and share your views about the health board’s ideas and plans at surveymonkey.co.uk/r/tgc-tcs

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Hywel Dda University Health Board will be held at 5pm on Thursday, July 27 at Milford Haven’s Pill Social Centre.