Plans for Peninsula GP Surgery move forward
27 September 2024
Hywel Dda University Health Board is continuing the work to prepare for the transfer of patients from St David’s Surgery in Pembrokeshire to nearby surgeries ahead of the end of October when the current contract will come to an end.
The Health Board agreed that the care of patients at St David’s Surgery in Pembrokeshire would be transferred to local practices as close as possible to where they live, in a meeting of the Board at the end of July.
The Health Board also committed to work on establishing a Branch Surgery in St David’s providing services for part of the week for those patients transferring to nearby Solva Surgery.
Jill Paterson, Director of Primary Care, Community and Long-Term Care, at Hywel Dda announced at a Board Meeting today (Thursday, 26 September) that the Health Board is in discussions with Shalom House in St David’s about the establishment of a Branch Surgery
“The location on Nun Street is convenient for patients and is a well-established organisation which is well-supported by the local community and we are delighted to be working with the Shalom Trustees to take forward this development,” said Ms Paterson.
“We are in the process of planning services to be delivered by a multi-disciplinary team and are planning community services there and some cluster-based services too.”
The decision to transfer patients from St David’s Surgery was made following an extensive period of engagement with patients at the practice and Llais, the patient’s voice organisation for Wales. This followed the decision by the one GP who runs the surgery to resign his General Medical Services Contract.
From 1 November 2024 the Solva GP Surgery will be known as the Peninsula Practice/ Meddygfa Penrhyn to reflect the broader reach of the Practice. The name was proposed by the Peninsula Working Group, which includes representatives from St David’s City Council and Solva and Llanrhian community councils.
The employed staff at St David’s Surgery will transfer to Peninsula Practice to join the growing team there, including administration and nursing staff and the salaried GP.
All patients at St David’s Surgery will have been sent a letter informing them which Practice they will be transferred to, and everyone will be contacted soon with a welcome letter with further information.
Ms Paterson said: “The planning for the transition is well under way. Patients don’t need to do anything – we will be transferring all records and registrations.
“Meanwhile, work to adapt the surgery building in Solva to accommodate the additional staff and patients will be taking place in the coming weeks. This involves internal alterations to the surgery building which will be taking place over the coming weeks to convert underused rooms into consulting and treatment rooms, and to move some office space to the first floor.”
Ms Paterson said that she was aware that some of the St David’s Surgery patients were concerned about travelling to Solva for appointments.
“In terms of travel, we recognise that this is a challenge. Some individuals are going to have to travel three miles to the Solva Surgery, but we hope that that need will not be significant because we are working to provide as many services in the local community that we can.
“We have also been working with PACTO – the Pembrokeshire Association of Community Transport Organisations. They have helped us develop a leaflet and they are looking for volunteer drivers to assist with this process, so that they can respond to need where buses are not available for individuals.
“We have also had a commitment from the surgery that, as far as possible, when people do need to go to the surgery, they will try to co-ordinate appointment times with bus times.”
For those who need to travel to the Peninsula Surgery in Solva, there will be information regarding public transport options for patients on the surgery website.
Patients who require help or further information should contact the Health Board by telephone us at 0300 303 8322 (option 5), or email ask.hdd@wales.nhs.uk.