WITHYBUSH Hospital will be downgraded from a general hospital to a community hospital - resulting in the loss of its A&E department, the health board has revealed.

Hywel Dda Health Board has launched a 12-week consultation on its proposals to radically overhaul how care is delivered across Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Plans to build a new Major Urgent and Planned Care hospital between Narberth and St Clears are at the heart of all three options put forward by board members this morning (April 19).

The proposals are outlined in the pictures in the gallery above.

Milford Mercury:

The board says the consultation is a "once-in-a-lifetime chance to fundamentally change the way that we provide local healthcare services for the better".

It proposes separating acute and community care, in a bid to keep people closer to home, and out of hospital wherever possible.

The options all see a move towards 'community hubs', that would bring together staff from health, social care, the voluntary sector and other agencies.

These hubs could include access to tests and scans, including x-rays, outpatient appointments and clinics, preventative care, and overnight stay for those who can't be cared for at home, but don't need to stay in hospital.

Preseli-Pembrokeshire MP Stephen Crabb has said the consultation paper put forward "casts another shadow over our local health services and creates yet more confusion and uncertainty for local people".

"All three options up for discussion see Withybush being downgraded which is bitterly disappointing," he said.

Dr John Morgan, of the Community Health Council (CHC),s aid it was inevitable that a lot of people would focus on the changes to hospitals, but pleaded with the public to 'look at the whole system'.

He said 'using a sticking plaster' to fix Hywel Dda's problems was not an option, and welcomed this radical overhaul, which he said would hopefully deliver the services the people of Hywel Dda deserve.

But, he emphasised that if investment in community services did not proceed as planned, they would put changes to the acute sector in jeopardy.

He urged the public to get involved and have their say.

To add your views, and read more, click here.

You can also get involved on Twitter by using the hashtag #hddchange in your Tweet.

A more in-depth article on the changes is here.