Shaping the Future of Tywyn Community Hospital

17.10.2025 - Update on engagement on the future of inpatient services at Tywyn Hospital.

We have been talking to the Tywyn community about this issue for some time, and have undertaken a comprehensive first phase of engagement in recent months to better understand how services could be delivered in the future, taking account of the well-documented ongoing challenges associated with recruiting and retaining the staff required to deliver safe and effective services in the local area.

We are hugely grateful to the hundreds of local residents who have already shared their views with us, and we look forward to continuing these conversations over the coming weeks.

As well as undertaking a detailed analysis of their feedback, which is summarised here, we have also held two facilitated sessions with identified representatives from key stakeholder groups to develop and assess potential long-term service models against a series of agreed criteria to determine their viability and sustainability.

This has led to the development of a medium list of five scenarios, which were considered yesterday at our most recent stakeholder session, attended by representatives from patient group, Llais; county and community councils; the Hospital Action Group, and local nurse and primary care leaders. The full list of considerations can be found here.

Based on scoring conducted by those in attendance against co-developed desirable criteria, it was proposed that options B, C, and D should be progressed for further development and engagement. Options A and E received lower scores and were not recommended for prioritisation at this stage.

It is important to emphasise that no final decisions have been made and the next phase of work will involve further engagement with local residents, staff and clinicians to fully develop services that meet local population need.

Background

The inpatient ward at Tywyn Hospital has been temporarily closed since April 2023 due to ongoing challenges in safely staffing the service. While recruitment efforts have made some progress, we have not had enough staff with the right skills, or enough staff staying on, to keep the ward running safely.

In the meantime, the Health Board has worked with local partners to strengthen and expand alternative services. This includes additional inpatient beds at Dolgellau, the launch of the community-based Tuag Adref service, the reopening of the Minor Injuries Unit, and the development of a new Treatment Room and Wellbeing Hub at Tywyn Hospital.

We are in the next phase of engagement with the local community. We are working closely with residents, staff, and partners to shape the future of services at Tywyn, including reviewing the challenges, listening to what matters most, and exploring different scenarios for delivering care that is safe, high-quality and sustainable.

After gathering community input, the Health Board will develop options and aim to make a decision in a public board meeting in December 2025.

Key documents

What We’ve Heard So Far

Already, hundreds of people have shared their views with us through the initial survey. This feedback is being used to help shape the next phase of work, ensuring that what we’ve heard directly from the community informs how we move forward.

How You Can Get Involved

We’ve met with community groups and organisations who’ve invited us to come and hear their views, and we’ll be continuing this outreach over the coming weeks.

This is just the start. There will be more opportunities to have your say as the work develops. We want this to be an ongoing conversation.

Have Your Say

To support this phase, we invited local people, staff, and interested groups to take part in a short survey. The feedback will help shape the early thinking and inform the development of options before any decisions are made.

Thank you for sharing your views, the survey is now closed.

We would like to thank everyone who took the time to share their feedback, your views are an important part of this service review.

We expect to seek further views in November on co-produced options. We will publish a summary of what the community tells us and explain how it’s shaping our plans. Your input will be central to the options presented to the Board. We’ll keep you updated throughout, including sharing the final decision and the reasons behind it. This way, you’ll see clearly how your voice has influenced the outcome.

Stay in touch

If you'd like to hear more and be kept informed directly as this work progresses, please let us know. We'd be happy to keep you updated and share further opportunities to get involved. Subscribe to the Health Board’s e-newsletter here.

Thank you for helping us shape the future of care in Tywyn.