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Shaping the Future of Penley Hospital

The future of inpatient services at Penley Community Hospital were discussed at the Health Board meeting on Thursday 29 January, with the decision to hold a formal consultation on the future of services later in 2026. In the meantime, conversations with the local community to support the development of long-term solutions continues and people are encouraged to get involved.

The community hospitals inpatient beds were closed in December 2024 and since then, we have been working with members of the community, clinical and non-clinical staff and partners to develop potential options for the future. These are still under development and we’re inviting everyone to continue shaping them with over the next few weeks. The proposed options being further explored are:

  • Develop an Integrated Health and Wellbeing Hub: This would mean repurposing the hospital as a multi-professional hub where health, social care and potentially voluntary sector teams co-locate. The aim is to improve access to outpatient and preventative services closer to home; reducing travel and creating a focal point for care in Penley.
  • Develop a Third Sector-led Health and Wellbeing Hub: This would look to combine the integrated hub model with an explicit leadership and delivery role for third-sector partners. The proposal builds on existing strengths in the local voluntary sector to deliver health, wellbeing, and social support alongside NHS-led services.
  • Enhance community services without the hospital building: This would redirect resources away from maintaining a fixed-site and investing instead in outreach and home-based services. This model prioritises flexibility and a “care closer to home” approach.

The general consensus so far is that reinstating inpatient beds similar to the previous model would not address community needs and a key theme from community feedback has been on the retention and repurposing of resources to better meet local population health needs.

We are exploring the positives and negatives of each proposal to help us refine our thinking and as well as face to face conversations and meetings, we encourage people to share their views here:  Complete Survey - Shaping the Future of Penley Community Hospital

Further developed options will be presented to the Health Board for approval before more detailed feedback is sought in the consultation period later in the year. This will also include welcoming robust, evidence-based alternatives to help us ensure that any services we provide are the right ones for the population, now and in the future.

Following feedback from the initial stages of engagement we are also developing a list of local community groups and venues in which to advertise opportunities to get involved or to directly attend. If you are aware of a group or location that you think would be helpful, please do let us know: BCU.Planning@wales.nhs.uk