Health boards in South Wales are meeting today to discuss plans for reorganising key services and locating them at five hospitals across the region.

The controversial plans would see consultant-led maternity and neonatal care, inpatient children’s services and emergency medicine (A&E) centralised at the following hospitals:

Princess of Wales Hospital, Bridgend

A new hospital to be built in Cwmbran

Prince Charles Hospital, Merthyr Tydfil

Cardiff University Hospital of Wales

Morriston Hospital, Swansea

The plans are controversial because some hospitals, such as the Royal Glamorgan hospital in Llantrisant, would see services downgraded. However the proposals would see the Royal Glamorgan become a “beacon site” for developing a new model of acute medicine for people with chronic illnesses.

Services are currently spread across eight hospitals in South Wales and the concern is that these are spread ‘too thinly’ to be sustainable in the future.

The plans for the reorganisation of services were first announced in 2012 and have been the subject of much debate. The plans were put together by senior managers and medical professionals from the five health boards (Abertawe Bro Morgannwg, Cwm Taf, Cardiff and Vale, Aneurin Bevan, Powys) and the Welsh Ambulance Service.