Hywel Dda board apology over out-of-hours GPs closures

Patients left without out-of-hours GP care over the weekend have been offered an apology by health board bosses.

Four centres in Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion could not open due to "an acute GP shortage".

It hit patients attending Llanelli's Prince Philip Hospital, Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen, Withybush Hospital in Haverfordwest, and in Llandysul.

Hywel Dda University Health Board said it was working to resolve the problem.

Chief executive Steve Moore said the board was doing its utmost "to ensure that we can continue to provide services that are safe and robust for our local communities".

"On behalf of the health board I would again like to apologise for any concern or inconvenience caused due to ongoing staffing issues in the out-of-hours GP service," he said.

The health board said a GP and nurse telephone advice service continued to support the centres that were closed.

"We are working together across the whole health board area and across different services to provide a safety net for our patients," Mr Moore added.

Dr Jane Fenton-May, spokeswoman for Royal College of General Practitioners Wales, said: "This is an example of the pressure many out-of-hours services across Wales are facing and it is regrettable that patients are not able to access services.

"We need to look at what support is needed to encourage more GPs into out-of-hours work.

"Improvements in areas such as call handling capacity and home triaging would help. Ultimately, we need to see more GPs working in Wales, as gaps in provision is a symptom of the severe workforce shortage general practice is facing."