AM horrified at cutting of out-of-hours GP care (From Western Telegraph)

AM horrified at cutting of out-of-hours GP care

3:20pm Wednesday 20th June 2007

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Plans to scrap the out-of-hours GP service at Tenby and South Pembrokeshire hospitals have "horrified" the local Assembly Member.

As the Western Telegraph revealed last week, evening GP support at the units will end from July 1st.

Instead, medical advice and support to the units will be provided by accident and emergency doctors from Withybush.

But Angela Burns AM has highlighted the concern of many parents, who fear they may face a further car journey with an ill child if a doctor is not present.

"I have taken my young daughter to South Pembrokeshire Hospital out-of-hours, and have been very grateful to be able to see a GP," she said. "When you have a young child vomiting, and with a high temperature, you don't want to have to travel all the way to Withybush to see someone.

"I thought the idea was to provide more localised care in the community, not to centralise everything and make people travel further for basic healthcare."

However, a senior official of the Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust said the changes in out-of-hour care would only strengthen minor injury services.

Nurses in the minor injury service are competent to assess, treat and discharge patients, the trust emphasised. In the past year they dealt with 75% of patients attending the units.

The trust's medical director, Dr Charles Merrill, said: "The A&E doctors have extensive experience in their field, and thanks to modern technology, can now diagnose directly using electronic transmission of X-rays and tele-medicine. This will result in better minor injury care closer to patients' homes."

Patients with a minor or more acute illness or injury who need attention outside GP surgery hours should still contact Care on Call on 08708 509508, as that provision does not change.

Patients who are seriously ill or injured should attend A&E or call 999.

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