A struggling Welsh health board may close urgent primary care centres at three hospitals, citing funding and recruitment issues, prompting widespread criticism.
Betsi Cadwaladr University health board, which serves about a quarter of Wales’s population, said it was consulting on ending urgent primary care centres (UPCCs) at Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley in Holyhead, Ysbyty Alltwen in Tremadog and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor by April ۲۰۲۷.
UPCCs staffed by GPs, advanced nurse practitioners and physiotherapists – similar to urgent treatment centres in England – have been set up across Wales since ۲۰۲۰ to ease pressure on GP practices and emergency departments.
Local MPs and MSs from across the political spectrum have written to the board to warn of “dire consequences” – including additional strain on the services they were originally intended to help.
The Conservative MS Janet Finch-Saunders, who represents Bangor Conwy Môn, said: “These centres help to relieve pressure on our accident and emergency departments when people are unable to get an appointment with their GP but require immediate care.
“It is vital that [the health board] supports these centres to remain open. Without them, existing waiting times could increase, potentially leading to delays in treatment.”
Betsi Cadwaladr has been in special measures since ۲۰۱۵ due to concerns over care quality, patient safety and leadership. In June, it was given a “final chance” to improve.
The board’s chief executive, Carol Shillabeer, said in a statement that access to urgent and emergency care remained “a priority”.
The Welsh NHS has fallen behind the other UK nations in several key metrics despite significant funding increases. NHS spending takes up nearly half the Welsh government’s £۲۷.۵bn budget. Six of the country’s seven health boards were recently found to have failed in their statutory duty to break even over a three-year period as they struggle to control day-to-day costs.
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In September, Powys health board, which spans a quarter of the country, announced it was considering cutting ۱۰۰ community hospital beds and consolidating minor injury services such as X-rays. Critics say the plans will make accessing care even more difficult for an ageing population in a rural region which is poorly served by public transport.
Opinion polls show that the NHS is overwhelmingly Welsh voters’ top concern. Turning the service around is widely seen as the most important of several fiscal challenges facing the new Plaid Cymru government elected in May.
