Health chiefs are in talks with Aberystwyth University over developing a community mental health centre – with some inpatient beds – on the Llanbadarn campus.

As part of plans to shake up mental health services, Hywel Dda Health Board wants to provide a dedicated facility in Aberystwyth to provide mental health services, which would include some beds.

That has led to the board identifying the university’s Llanbadarn campus as a possible location, with the university currently considering the proposal and a business case being put together to bid for Welsh Government funding. But it would be 2022 at the earliest before a new facility was opened.

In the meantime, the health board is looking to provide a 24-hour service at the current Gorwelion facility, although that is not due to start until December this year.

A Hywel Dda spokesperson said: “Last year we worked with our service users, carers and key stakeholders to identify a potential preferred option for the site of a community mental health centre in Aberystwyth.

“All the building options that were explored had to meet the criteria for our vision of a CMHC, which included having enough capacity to house a number of community mental health teams as well as hospitality beds for our service users, being close to public transport links and being located within a community setting.”

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