Rural Health and Care Wales (RHCW) was tasked by the RHCW Stakeholder Group and the Mid Wales Joint Committee for Health and Care in November 2019 to investigate community hospital provision across Mid Wales in order to:
- gain an understanding of the role and value of community hospitals across the region
- identify the “value” of Community Hospitals to the population of Mid Wales, in comparison to existing measures of evaluation used for Community Hospitals across the UK
- provide recommendations on what are the true reflections of value of the Community Hospitals to the people living in rural Wales.
The Mid Wales region is defined as the area that connects Barmouth in the north-west of Wales, across to Welshpool in the north-east, down to Cardigan in the south-west, across to Llandovery and then onto Builth Wells in the south-east. The region spans approximately 2,500 square miles and has a population of 252,646 (ONS 2021) ; it is served by three Health Boards: Hywel Dda University Health Board, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board and Powys Teaching Health Board. There is one District General Hospital serving the whole area, Bronglais and it is, based in Aberystwyth, Ceredigion.
There are 11 Community Hospitals in the region, providing 185* inpatient beds**:
- Tregaron Hospital
- Bronllys Hospital
- Knighton Community Hospital
- Montgomeryshire County Infirmary
- Llandrindod Wells Memorial Hospital
- Llanidloes War Memorial Hospital
- Welshpool Victoria Memorial Hospital
- Llandovery Hospital
- Dolgellau and Barmouth Hospital
- Bro Ddyfi Community Hospital
- Tywyn Community Hospital
Plus 2 state of the art modern Integrated Care Centres: Aberaeron and Cardigan
** correct at time of writing (March 2024)
Current UK Community Hospital evaluation measures do not include important but often intangible value markers that rural community hospitals offer, such as:
- History and Tradition – inspiring community-based trust and acting as the symbol of vitality and viability of a community (Glasby et al 2019)
- Economic value – impacting local suppliers, local employment and skills development through volunteering
- Community placed value – based on trust, experience and knowledge
Information dissemination to date has included Academic Poster presentations at:
- RHCW Conference in Builth Wells November 2019
- ICIC24 Conference in Belfast April 2024
- Royal Welsh Showground July 2024
- RHCW Stakeholder presentation September 2024
- Community Hospitals Association October 2024
- Public Health Wales December 2024
Outputs include:
- Report on findings (currently in abeyance)
- Production of the educational infographic below detailing the chronological history of Community Hospitals in Mid Wales