Bronglais Hospital in Aberystwyth will continue to provide acute and planned care while Cardigan, Llandysul, Lampeter, Aberaeron and Tregaron will all have dedicated ‘health and wellbeing centres’, under plans for the next 20 years.

Hywel Dda’s Healthier Mid and West Wales Our Future Generations Living Well plan outlines how the health board wants to see services developed over the next two decades with a greater emphasis on community-based services, dedicated locality teams and special ‘community networks’ that will be expected to provide some services such as X-rays, blood tests and outpatient appointments.

While the plan does not include detailed service plans, it aims to provide an overview of how the health board wants to develop things over the next 20 years.

That includes ensuring that Bronglais Hospital has a full emergency department and range of surgery, providing both acute and planned care.

There will also be new centres, previously referred to as ‘community hubs’ by the health board, in towns across the county, with work already underway on facilities in Aberaeron, Cardigan and Tregaron, and similar centres in Lampeter and Llandysul being earmarked as ‘early implementers’ of the health and wellbeing centre development to show how the centres would work.

One of the main developments the health board is planning is the development of health and wellbeing centres which it says will provide services closer to the community. The report says that community services are seen as vital for the future of health services.

See this week’s south papers for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition tomorrow