The future of stroke service in Bronglais Hospital will be decided at an extraordinary meeting of Hywel Dda University Health Board in February.

Last year the health board unveiled its Clinical Services Plan which included options for change in nine clinical areas: critical care, dermatology, emergency general surgery, endoscopy, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, stroke, radiology and urology.

The changes would see the stroke services at Aberystwyth’s hospital downgraded to a ‘treat and transfer’ unit.

A public consultation on the Clinical Services Plan, which closed on Sunday, 31 August, drew more than 4,000 responses and led to a large protest meeting in Aberystwyth’s Great Hall earlier this year, with people voicing concern over the future of stroke services at Bronglais Hospital.

In October, campaigners from across Ceredigion, Powys and Meirionnydd travelled to the Senedd on as politicians debated calls to safeguard full stroke services at Bronglais Hospital after more than 17,000 signed one of the biggest petitions in the Senedd’s 26-year history.

Campaigners urged the Senedd and Welsh Government to intervene immediately to protect the stroke unit amid plans to downgrade the service to a “treat-and-transfer” model.

Under consultation proposals, stroke patients presenting at the Aberystwyth hospital could be transferred to the Prince Philip in Llanelli or Withybush in Haverfordwest.

Hywel Dda health board – which has argued the Bronglais changes are necessary to make stroke services more sustainable, with centralisation improving staff recruitment and retention – has now said the results of the consultation on its Clinical Services Plan will be used as part of its thinking when final decisions on the plan are made at an extraordinary meeting on 19 February.

The health board said that 4,140 questionnaire responses were received to the consultation, and more than 4,000 people attended Health Board engagement events.

“There was significant engagement with the consultation across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and beyond,” the health board said.

Hywel Dda said it is “now undertaking a period of conscientious consideration” and “will take time to carefully review and reflect on all feedback before any decisions are made.”

“Progress has also been made in assessing the potential of more than 100 alternative ideas submitted during the consultation process,” the health board added.

“New ideas were considered as part of the same process that led to the options presented in the consultation.

“Over 20 alternative ideas progressed to a shortlisting stage.”

Hywel Dda Executive Medical Director Mark Henwood said: “It is vital that the views shared during the consultation are fully considered, taking into account what people have told us before any decisions are made.

“This approach helps us make informed choices about the future model for these nine clinical services.”

An initial draft consultation report has been received from Opinion Research Services (ORS), summarising the feedback gathered through meetings, events, written submissions and questionnaire responses.

The role of ORS is to ensure that the feedback gathered during the consultation is analysed objectively and presented in a way that accurately reflects what people told the health board.