CEREDIGION MP Ben Lake and AM Elin Jones have welcomed plans to retain Bronglais Hospital in its current form, but have called for beds to be provided at a proposed community hub in Cardigan to ensure patients are not sent further afield.

Responding to the Hywel Dda University Health Board Transforming Clinical Services consultation, the county politicians said that “far closer integration of health and social care is required in order to meet the needs of patients and their families”, and should be “central to policy and budgeting”.

“We believe that the community hub model is to be welcomed and we support the four community hubs proposed for Ceredigion,” the pair said in their response to the consultation.

“However, we certainly feel that, at some point, there will be a need to provide beds at the new community hub in Cardigan, in order to provide care closer to home and ensure that patients are not inappropriately sent or kept in acute hospitals, especially of those hospitals will be further away in the future.

“We very much welcome the plans to retain a District General Hospital at Bronglais and emphasise that this hospital serves people in Ceredigion and many more in Powys and Gwynedd.

“We would urge the health board to seek to grow the clinical services provided by this hospital."

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