Hywel Dda University Health Board

What Hywel Dda University Health Board does

Hywel Dda University Health Board is a statutory NHS Wales health board headquartered in Carmarthen, Wales, responsible for planning and delivering publicly funded healthcare to the population of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and bordering counties. The organisation operates four main hospitals (Bronglais in Aberystwyth, Glangwili in Carmarthen, Prince Philip in Llanelli, and Withybush in Haverfordwest) supported by community hospitals, integrated care centres, and primary care clusters, with 13,000+ staff providing primary, community, in-hospital, mental health, and learning disability services. Care is delivered across emergency departments, minor injury units, outpatient services, maternity, diagnostics, mental health, and learning disability pathways, with services available in both English and Welsh.

The health board runs a patient-facing digital product portfolio built on NHS Wales digital infrastructure managed by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW). Core digital offerings include Badger Notes (a digital patient notes and health record portal), Patients Know Best personal held records, video consultations, technology-enabled care remote monitoring, wearable technology for falls prevention, digital assessments, and a digital health applications library; the NHS Wales App provides mobile access. The WCCIS digital community care record enables integrated working between community nurses, mental health teams, social workers, and therapists. Strategic technology partnerships include DHCW for digital transformation and ARCH (A Regional Collaboration for Health) with Swansea University and Swansea Bay UHB.

Hywel Dda's business model is statutory public funding: services are free at the point of access and financed through Welsh Government block allocations to NHS Wales, with no commercial pricing and no shareholder return. The model functions as a regional monopoly under NHS Wales legislation, with services accessed via GP referrals, self-referrals (podiatry, physiotherapy), emergency departments, and a centralised outpatient contact centre. The organisation operates within a wider statutory ecosystem alongside Welsh Health Specialised Services Committee (WHSSC), the Emergency Ambulance Services Committee (EASC), the Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, Llais (public voice body), the West Wales Regional Partnership Board, and the newly formed South West Wales Regional Joint Committee established in 2025.

Name

Hywel Dda University Health Board

Legal name

Hywel Dda University Health Board

Website

https://hduhb.nhs.wales

Company type

Public

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Hywel Dda University Health Board is a publicly funded NHS Wales health board providing hospital, community, mental health, and learning disability services to the population of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire across four main hospitals and digital care channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Healthcare Services

NAICS

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (6221), Home Health Care Services (62161)

SIC

Services-Hospitals (8060), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Consent, Preference & Data Rights Management (incl. HIPAA/GDPR support) (HLACAIAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Consent, Authorization & Data Sharing Governance (opt-in/opt-out, DS4P) (HLACABAG)

Keywords

• Public healthcare services
• Hospital and community care
• Mental health services
• Maternity and primary care
• Digital health services

Headquarters

HQ city

Carmarthen

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. NHS Publicly Funded Healthcare: As a public NHS health board, services are publicly funded through Welsh Government NHS Wales budget allocation. Healthcare is provided free at point of access to eligible patients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hywel Dda University Health Board is a statutory NHS health board that plans and delivers publicly funded hospital, community, primary, mental health, learning disability, and maternity healthcare services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and bordering counties in mid and west Wales. It operates four main hospitals, community hospitals, integrated care centres, and a suite of digital health tools (Badger Notes, video consultations, technology-enabled care, wearable falls prevention, Patients Know Best, NHS Wales App) that enable remote care and patient record access.

Product overview

Hywel Dda University Health Board provides NHS healthcare services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire in Wales. Its digital product portfolio consists of patient-facing digital health services and tools built on NHS Wales infrastructure. The core digital offerings include patient portals (Badger Notes, Patients Know Best), telehealth services (video consultations, technology enabled care), and specialized digital health resources (digital health applications library, digital assessments, wearable technology for falls prevention). The NHS Wales App provides mobile access to these services. The digital infrastructure is built and maintained by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), a special health authority responsible for NHS Wales digital transformation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Badger Notes Digital patient portal that allows individuals to access their maternity/health records and related information digitally.
• Digital Health Applications Library Library of approved digital health applications available for patient use within the health board.
• Personal Held Records — Patients Know Best (PKB) Patient-controlled personal health record system allowing patients to hold and manage their own health information.
• Video Consultations Remote consultation service enabling patients to speak with healthcare professionals via video.
• Technology Enabled Care Technology-enabled care services for remote patient monitoring and management.
• Wearable Technology for Falls Prevention Wearable devices and associated technology for detecting and preventing falls among patients.
• Digital Assessments Online service for conducting digital health assessments to improve communication between patients and care teams.
• NHS Wales App Official NHS Wales mobile application available on iOS and Android platforms, providing patients with digital access to NHS services.
• Hospital and Secondary Care Services Secondary care services delivered through four main hospitals including emergency departments, inpatient care, outpatient services, and Same Day Emergency Care / Same Day Urgent Care pathways.
• Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services Specialist mental health services (community mental health teams, crisis resolution, specialist mental health services) and learning disabilities services for adults and children, including hospital liaison support.
• Maternity Services Maternity services across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire including antenatal care, midwife-led and doctor-led labour and delivery, and postnatal support.
• Community Healthcare Services Community-based healthcare including primary care clusters, community mental health teams, learning disability services, podiatry, physiotherapy, and other community health services across three counties.

Quantifiable outcome

• Referral to treatment targets: 95% of people start treatment within 26 weeks, 100% within 36 weeks
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• ARCH - A Regional Collaboration of HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional partnership with Swansea University and Swansea Bay University Health Board working to improve health, wealth, and well-being of people of South West Wales
• RHCW - Rural Health Care WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrganization of excellence leading in rural health and social care in Wales, UK and internationally. Formed and supported by Hywel Dda UHB, Betsi Cadwaladr UHB, Powys THB, and Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust, working with universities of Aberystwyth, Bangor, Cardiff, Swansea, Trinity Saint David and Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol
• West Wales Regional Partnership BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRequired under Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014. Regional Partnership Board working collectively to transform services for adults and children with care and support needs and their unpaid carers
• Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW)coreTechnology or IntegrationSpecial health authority created in April 2021 to take forward digital transformation for better health and care in Wales. Built the NHS Wales App and provides digital infrastructure support
• WHSSC - Welsh Health Specialised Services CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResponsible for joint planning of specialised and tertiary services on behalf of Health Boards in Wales. Receives funding from Health Boards to pay for specialised healthcare
• EASC - Emergency Ambulance Services CommitteecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint committee of seven health boards in Wales, hosted by Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHB, responsible for planning and securing sufficient ambulance services for the population
• Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust (WAST)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides urgent and emergency care for 999 callers, non-emergency patient transport to hospitals, and supports NHS 111 Wales
• South West Wales Regional Joint Committee (RJC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in 2025, provides joint leadership across Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda university health boards. Advises on planning, commissioning and delivery of health services across these areas, driving improvements in patient care, service transformation, and regional collaboration
• HEIW - Health Education and Improvement WalesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial health authority leading in education, training, development and shaping of healthcare workforce in Wales
• Life Sciences Hub Wales (LSHW)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment subsidiary supporting growing life sciences sector in Wales, helping people benefit from improved healthcare and economic well-being through solutions for NHS and healthcare providers
• LlaismajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational independent body set up by Welsh Government to give people of Wales stronger voice in health and social care services. NHS organizations, local authorities and third sector care providers must listen
• West Wales Action for Mental Health (WWAMH)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides range of services to voluntary groups, carers and individuals who have used or are using mental health services and living in Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cardiff and Vale University Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, operating acute hospitals and community services. Direct peer as a similarly structured health board under NHS Wales.
• Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving North Wales with hospitals and community services. Direct peer: both are geographically defined, publicly funded health boards delivering integrated NHS care, and partner together in Rural Health Care Wales.
• Swansea Bay University Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving the Swansea Bay area. Direct peer and active collaborator through ARCH partnership and the new South West Wales Regional Joint Committee (2025).
• Aneurin Bevan University Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving Gwent in South East Wales. Direct peer as a comparably sized, hospital-and-community-based NHS Wales health board operating under the same regulatory and funding framework.
• Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving the Cwm Taf Morgannwg region; hosts EASC for ambulance planning. Direct peer under the same NHS Wales legislative and funding regime.
• Powys Teaching Health Board: Statutory NHS Wales health board serving Powys, a largely rural county. Direct peer — similar rural delivery model and joint partner in Rural Health Care Wales, making operating model and digital health approach closely comparable.

Broad incumbents

• NHS England: Broader UK NHS counterpart providing analogous statutory health-system functions across England. Broad incumbent — useful benchmark for operating model, performance targets, and digital health adoption even though a separate national system.
• NHS Wales (Gweinyddiaeth Gofal Iechyd Cymru): National parent body overseeing all NHS Wales organizations. Broad incumbent — sets policy, allocates funding, and commissions specialized services (via WHSSC) that Hywel Dda participates in, providing the funding and policy framework within which the health board operates.

Others

• Patients Know Best (PKB): Personal Health Record vendor used by Hywel Dda as a key patient-facing digital platform. Adjacent/ecosystem participant — supplies the patient-held record capability that is central to Hywel Dda's digital health proposition.
• Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW): Special health authority providing national digital infrastructure (NHS Wales App, EPR, DHCW platforms) on which Hywel Dda's digital health services are built. Not a competitor but the upstream digital enabler for Hywel Dda's patient-facing digital products.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hywelddahb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hywel Dda University Health Board