Members of the South East Pembrokeshire Community Health Network (SEPCHN) were very grateful that Mansel Thomas again stepped in to chair the recent meeting held at New Hedges Village Hall, and he was pleased to see so many people attend.

He warmly welcomed everyone including the vice chair of the Hywel Dda University Health Board, Judith Hardisty, the Pembrokeshire Director, Elaine Lorton, and Lea Elwell from the Transformation Team.

The main item on the agenda was the Tenby surgery and its management by the local Health Board.

However the minutes of the last meeting concerned the Health Board’s development plans.

Mansel read out some of the main consultation results, which are still being analysed and considered. No decision has yet been made on the outcome. This will be discussed at the Board’s next meeting and can be viewed via a web cam.

Some of the points raised in the discussion that followed were about the consultation process, some felt that it was better than previous consultations.

Questions were asked about what weight would be given to those in Pembrokeshire that had commented, would their numbers be compared to other parts of the Health Board population.

Judith responded by saying that the board would not be swayed by numbers. With regard to who had the final say in the decision the answer was, ‘The Board’.

However, if a judicial review was called for or a new building needed then the Health Minister would be involved.

The Tenby Cottage Hospital becoming a hub in the plan was not in question and Elaine Lorton explained that the aim of a Hub would be to provide an integrated service through consultation, providing foundation, community, and acute services, all working together.

The meeting heard how the Tenby surgery has now been managed by the Local Health Board for just over a month and all staff are now employed by the Board.

Everything is being evaluated and where needed, changes will be made.

When the LHB takes over a surgery not all the problems can be solved at once. There is hope that one day the surgery could once again become a private enterprise.

The main item was the present situation at Tenby Surgery.

When asked how long the Board had known about the problems at the Tenby surgery and why more had not been done earlier to help, Elaine explained that the LHB had helped with locums and administration, but could not have taken away the management of a general practice without evidence of a problem.

Now there is a team on hand to help a regular group of locums so that there can be continuity of care.

Continuity of care was something many of those present were concerned about.

Judith Hardisty had some good news to share in that nationally a full quota of GPs is in training and getting experience.

The Board should soon be in a place where they can move away from locum GPs, but how long will it take?

There is also now a five day telephone appointment service in place. The GP vacancies were still being advertised and there are some positive signs. The appointment of GP’s remains the priority for the practice.

The Network stressed how important the GP service is to the health system in our area. It is the cornerstone of our service. It has and will continue to be the basis of our health support and so it is essential that we iron out these initial problems as soon as possible.

In discussions on problems being faced by Tenby patients, a number of other issues were raised including:

• The continued difficulty in arranging a GP appointment; there were still concerns from those present about having to queue outside the surgery to get appointments to see a doctor or nurse practitioner.

There were good comments about the treatment received once they did manage to get an appointment.

• Whilst many appreciated the service provided by locum GP’s some patients felt there were occasions when they appeared to require more administrative support.

• There was a strong feeling for better communication with patients and public. There needs to be improved use of the local press or display of practice notices. Would a patient panel help to highlight issues? This idea was warmly welcomed.

• A member explained that in its new management role it would be necessary for the Health Board to have short and long term plans for the practice in place. Judith Hardisty stated that the Board would be making a rolling programme at its October and November meetings and that plans would be publicised.

• The importance of having a pharmacist at the surgery was mentioned and how that can be useful in helping to detect changes in people’s health.

The Health Board members were asked to respond to these issues by the next meeting and notify the SEPCHN of developments.

The SEPCHN greatly values the provision of the health service provided by the surgery and simply wishes to offer support in any way it can in order to overcome the present difficulties and return to its former status as soon as possible.