Surgery ‘too small’ to cater for patients

A BOOM in new housing means a GP branch surgery is now “too small” to accommodate all the residents in its area.

ABMU University Health Board said Pencoed Medical Centre’s branch surgery in Llanharan has seen an increase in demand due to new properties being build in Llanharan, Llanilid and the surrounding areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf. But it said the branch surgery is “too small to comfortably accommodate all the residents from the new housing estates”.

It is now setting up a working group with the aim of finding a way to ensure this group of what it calls cross-border patients – who live in the Cwm Taf University Health Board area but receive their health care from ABMU – can receive the service they need.

ABMU said it is determined that residents should not suffer as a result of where they live and will do all it can to work with others to find a solution.

The health board said it will also arrange public meetings later in the year to keep residents up-to- date on progress and to discuss developments.

“We’re committed to working with the local community, GPs and Cwm Taf Health Board to ensure residents in these cross-border communities continue to have good access to GP services,” said ABMU’s director of primary and community services, Hilary Dover.

“We understand the effect on local healthcare services of increasing patient numbers and appreciate this is mainly due to new housing developments in Llanharan, Llanillid and surrounding areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf.

“It is very important that patients in both communities have access to appropriate healthcare specialists who are based in suitable buildings.

“We are setting up a joint group to look at pos- sible options and have invited Cwm Taf Health Board to join.

“This group will also include the independent community health councils for both areas who would seek the views of local residents and ensure these are used in the planning of services.”

Hilary explained that while expanding one of the surgeries might appear to be a simple an- swer, it was not straightforward.

Pencoed New Surgery, a neighbouring GP Practice in Pencoed received significant investment, £2.7m, when it was built in 2011.

But ABMU said it now has commitments to invest in primary care in other parts of the health board’s area and has a responsibility to those ABMU patients. that