Lives ‘at risk’ by lack of GPs
LIVES are at risk because of the lack of GPs working out-of-hours, a councillor has claimed.
Over the bank holiday weekend, parts of Gwynedd were left with just one GP as thousands of tourists flocked to the area.
A doctor based at Alltwen minor injuries unit in Tremadog, near Porthmadog, was expected to cover the Llyn peninsula as well as much of south Gwynedd including Bala, Blaenau Ffestiniog and Dolgellau.
Peter Read, Abererch county councillor, said a patient could die if the situation continues.
He said: “There are people here in Pen Llyn who are closer to a hospital in Dublin, so this is a dangerous situation.
“They tell us that the accident and emergency departments are full and should only be for emergencies, but the health board don’t seem to realise that people will go to A&E in Bangor when they can’t get a doctor.”
Cllr Read said although there was a specialist nurse at the Tremadog hospital who could deal with many of the scenarios a GP would face, he felt if the nurse was based in Pwllheli it would give staff a better chance of dealing with more emergencies.
“When you think of the numbers that visit here during the weekend, it’s just staggering that they do this. They could have a medic in Pwllheli and at least then they are spread out,” he added.
“It’s only a matter of time until something happens and maybe a life is lost. It’s a postcode lottery.”
Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville-Roberts said: “It is deeply concerning that all out-ofhours services are located at Alltwen.
“If this is being proposed as a permanent solution, then a full and transparent consultation must be held through the local community health councils.
“I have already been contacted by several people concerned with the present arrangements and worried about the future provision of local healthcare services in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd.”
A spokesman for Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said: “We would like to reassure Cllr Read that there was a GP out-of-hours service covering south Gwynedd over the bank holiday weekend.
“GP cover for the area was centred at Alltwen over the bank holiday as it is geographically central to the area being covered.”
The spokesman added: “An advanced nurse practitioner (ANP) was also working at Alltwen over the bank holiday weekend.
“Having an ANP in the same place, working together with a GP, helps the doctor see more patients as they have another clinician who they can refer patients to, therefore freeing up the GP to see more urgent cases.”