Two public meetings have been held in New Hedges and Pembroke regarding the closure of the hospitals with officers attending from the Hywel Dda Health Board, local councillors, community health council and concerned members of the public.
Pembrokeshire Assembly Member Angela Burns who attended both the Tenby meeting just before Christmas and the Pembroke meeting on Thursday night said “The message is loud and clear from the community to the Hywel Dda Board, don’t close the minor injury units at South Pembrokeshire and Tenby hospitals. I have met with both Chris Martin, Chair of the Trust and members of the CHC to air my concerns that these closures will see the minor injuries service either staying closed in the long term or being offered through the local GP service. And my postbag is full of letters from people who have great difficulty in accessing appointments with our busy GP service on a routine basis let alone when there is an emergency.
The lack of consultation with either the public or the very GPs who are supposed to pick up this service means that this has become an unfortunate start to the listening, engagement and consultation exercise being undertaken by the Trust. We are all aware of the Welsh Government’s policy of centralisation and cost cutting in the Health Service and I accept that the Trust have to respond to it. However I sincerely hope that this is a genuine exercise where you and I can influence the shape of our hospital services and it’s not simply a charade by the Trust to fulfil it’s obligation to consult the public whilst knowing all the time what the intended outcome will be.”
