Bid to fill health post (From Western Telegraph)

Bid to fill health post

Rheumatology patients in Pembrokeshire could soon be spared the journey to Swansea for treatment - but a campaign to recruit a consultant has so far drawn a blank.

The Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust had been allocated extra funding to pay for a consultant rheumatologist last year, but the post remains vacant.

There was no interest when the post was first advertised in November, and there has been little response to the current campaign. A national shortage of trained rheumatologists has been blamed for the failure to fill this post.

The National Assembly has assured patients it has prioritised the search for a suitable candidate and has widen its campaign to Germany. The Assembly says it remains firmly committed to training more consultants. There are currently six specialist registrars undertaking training in Wales to become consultants in rheumatology. Currently, the service in Pembrokeshire is restricted to a visiting Cardiff consultant one day every month.

Peter Wilczynski, general manager of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust, admits this situation is inadequate. Large numbers of patients have to travel to Swansea or are treated by a visiting consultant at Carmarthen. Fears that the new funding will be lost if the post is not filled soon have been dismissed by Mr Wilczynski. We will endeavour to find a solution which is long term, but if we cant do that we will increase the services locally, he says. There are a number of different ways we could do this, by recruiting a part-time consultant or increasing capacity locally. We are committed to exploring all avenues.