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Health

St Davids Surgery will close despite strong opposition, residents told

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HYWEL DDA has confirmed the closure of St Davids Surgery this week, dismissing widespread local opposition and calls for reconsideration. This decision follows a packed public meeting where residents voiced their concerns about the loss of the vital healthcare facility.

The announcement to close the surgery was made in July, with the health board revealing that the surgery would shut down next month when its only GP resigns from the General Medical Services contract. Around 3,000 patients are registered at the surgery and will now be transferred, mainly to Solva Surgery, with others sent to Fishguard and Haverfordwest surgeries depending on their location.

This decision sparked significant backlash from the local community. A drop-in session held at City Hall saw hundreds of St Davids residents lining up outside the doors to express their concerns directly to the health board. Protest banners sprang up around the city, highlighting the depth of public feeling against the closure.

Undeterred, the residents of St Davids have continued their efforts to save the surgery.

Last week, more than 150 people gathered at City Hall for a meeting to discuss possible next steps. Topics included appealing the health board’s decision and exploring the option of the community purchasing the surgery building.

Despite the strong local campaign, the health board has stated it will not reconsider its decision. In a letter to campaigners, it acknowledged the concern and disappointment caused but confirmed that a branch surgery will be set up in St Davids. This new branch will offer services from a multi-professional team for a minimum of 20 hours per week but will not include any sessions run by a physician associate, limiting support for doctors in patient care.

The health board plans to begin the patient transition process in the coming weeks. The management team is collaborating with staff at both St Davids Surgery and Solva Surgery to develop a new model of general practice. This model aims to meet the health board’s statutory requirement to provide appropriate services for St Davids residents by the end of October.

Hywel Dda Health Board has expressed its commitment to ongoing cooperation with the Peninsular Working Group. It has also pledged to review the general medical services (GMS) provision in six months to ensure it continues to meet patients’ needs. In addition, health board engagement events on the development of primary and community services strategy are scheduled throughout September.

Dr Neil Wooding, the newly appointed chairperson of Hywel Dda University Health Board, and acting CEO Prof Phil Kloer addressed the decision: “In making the decision to support the managed list dispersal of the current St Davids Surgery, members of the board were presented with all of the facts related to patient demographics, travel times, etc. This also included discussions with the current owners of the surgery building, Llais, and the local medical committee.”

“We will not revisit this decision but will continue to work with the community of St Davids to mitigate any negative impact of this development where possible,” they added.

While the health board remains firm in its decision, the residents of St Davids are determined to keep fighting for local healthcare services, hoping to minimise the impact of the surgery’s closure on their community.

Health

Local nurse awarded by The Queen’s Nursing Institute

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MEGAN WARE, a Learning Disability Children’s Community Nurse in Hywel Dda University Health Board, was recently awarded the ‘Dame Elizabeth Fradd Memorial Prize for Outstanding Achievement’ by the Queen’s Nursing Institute.

This prestigious award was presented to Megan in recognition of her hard work and achievements across Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, and Pembrokeshire.

Megan was nominated by one of her lecturers in the University of South Wales. There were many reasons that helped influence her nomination for this award. She has enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to gain experience, develop and achieve. She helped with teaching year one community children’s nursing students in the Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ), sharing her own learning from her clinical practice.

Her innovation and encouragement have inspired others to feel confident within their future specialist practice and she has excelled clinically, achieving all the elements of the course to a high standard.  

Megan said: “I have always been passionate about making a positive difference to people’s lives and I feel so privileged to be in the position I am as a nurse working with children with learning disabilities and complex needs. I was completely shocked to have won this award but feel proud at the fact that I have been recognised for my work and efforts in completing the course.”

Megan is also the first learning disability nurse in Wales working within a community children’s nursing team to complete her SPQ in children’s community nursing. The course prepares nurses to become a specialist practitioner following the Nursing and Midwifery Council’s standards of proficiency for community nursing specialist practice qualifications. The skills taught involve health education and health promotion, how to improve quality in healthcare settings, leadership, and management and more.

Sharon Daniel, Interim Executive Director of Nursing, Quality and Patient Experience at the health board praised Megan’s achievement, saying: “I am proud of Megan for obtaining this award and for being the first learning disability nurse to study for the Specialist Practitioner Qualification in Wales. It is testament to all her hard work and commitment to extending her knowledge as a nurse working with and benefiting children in our community.”

Megan plans on finishing her dissertation and completing her Masters degree, which will help further her career.

This annual award is for the most outstanding student in the Specialist Practice Qualification in community children’s nursing across universities in Wales, England, and Northern Ireland. The Dame Elizabeth Fradd Memorial Prize was established in 2024 to honour the legacy of Dame Elizabeth Fradd, a Fellow of the Queen’s Nursing Institute and a distinguished children’s nurse.

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Health

Pressures remain high despite the end of ambulance ‘critical incident’

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AMBULANCE service pressures remain high despite the end of a 48-hour critical incident declared by the Welsh Ambulance Service.

The incident, triggered by overwhelming demand and a backlog of 340 emergency calls on Monday, was formally stood down after significant strain on resources.

Judith Bryce, assistant director of operations, said: “While the critical incident is behind us, significant pressures remain, and it’s really important that the public play their part to protect our precious resources for those who need them most.”

Ambulance chiefs have urged the public to use the service responsibly, advising people to only dial 999 in life-threatening emergencies and consider alternatives such as NHS 111 Wales symptom checkers, pharmacists, minor injuries units, or GPs.

“For anyone under the weather after New Year’s Eve celebrations, consider what you can do at home to self-care, including for common ailments like coughs, sore throats, and diarrhoea,” Ms Bryce added.

She also warned the public to take extra care while yellow weather warnings for heavy rain and high winds remain in place, highlighting the risk of accidents on the road and injuries from slips, trips, and falls.

The pressures extended beyond the ambulance service, with health boards including Cwm Taf Morgannwg, Hywel Dda, Aneurin Bevan, and Cardiff and Vale reporting increased demand. These boards introduced mask-wearing measures last week due to rising flu cases.

Jason Killens, chief executive of the ambulance service, described the critical situation as “very rare” and stressed the importance of using emergency services wisely.

This is not the first time a critical incident has been declared during winter pressures. In December 2020, south Wales experienced a similar crisis, while an extraordinary incident was declared in 2023 after an ambulance waited over 28 hours outside a hospital.

The Welsh government acknowledged the ongoing pressures on urgent and emergency care services and urged the public to carefully consider their options before seeking care.

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Health

Critical incident declared by Welsh Ambulance Service due to demand

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A “CRITICAL INCIDENT” was declared by the Welsh Ambulance Service on Monday (Dec 30) evening due to significantly increased demand and extensive handover delays.

The service, which covers more than three million people across Wales, reported over 340 calls waiting to be answered at the time the incident was declared.

More than half of the ambulance vehicles were stuck outside hospitals waiting to hand over patients, resulting in some people waiting “many hours” for an ambulance and delays in answering emergency calls.

Ambulances outside Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest (Image: Herald)

Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, James Evans MS, said: “Another critical incident declared by the Welsh Ambulance Service with over 340 calls waiting, ambulances stuck outside hospitals, and patients waiting hours for care.

“This is not just a winter crisis, it is a symptom of long-term failures in Labour-run Wales. Patients and frontline workers deserve better.

“It’s time for real leadership to fix this problem once and for all.”

The public has been urged to call 999 only in the event of serious emergencies.

The Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust said it had implemented additional measures to ensure services could continue.

Stephen Sheldon, Head of Service, said: “It is very rare that we declare a critical incident, but with significant demand on our service and more than 90 ambulances waiting to hand over patients outside of hospital, our ability to help patients has been impacted.

“Regrettably, this means that some patients will wait longer for an ambulance to arrive and for their calls to be answered.

“For that, we are very sorry because this is not the level of service we want to provide.

“We understand that this is frustrating for patients, but can assure them that we are doing everything we can to relieve the pressure on our service.”

A critical incident is the highest alert level used by the NHS, allowing management to take immediate steps to create capacity.

Sheldon added: “The public can help by only calling 999 in the event of a life-threatening emergency – that’s a cardiac arrest, chest pain, breathing difficulties, loss of consciousness, choking, or catastrophic bleeding.

“If it’s not a life-threatening emergency, then it’s important you use one of the many alternatives to 999, starting with the symptom checkers on our NHS 111 Wales website, as well as your GP, pharmacist, and minor injuries unit.”

Earlier on Monday, Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust, which operates Walsall Manor Hospital, also declared a critical incident due to rising numbers of people needing urgent and emergency hospital care, predominantly for respiratory conditions.

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