THOUSANDS of patients will have to register elsewhere, after it emerged that two GP surgeries in Ceredigion will close early next year.
The closure of Ashleigh Surgery is as a result of struggling to recruit new GPs.
The closures will see Teifi Surgery services stop on 31 January and Ashleigh Surgery on 28 February, leaving around 10,000 patients needing to be registered with other surgeries.
Hywel Dda Health Board has said it is working with both surgeries and is in talks with other surgeries in the area to ensure that patients can transfer to a new surgery, with patient drop-in events scheduled in Cardigan and Llandysul to discuss the situation.
The announcement has been met with dismay by local councillors, who warned that the knock-on effect on other local doctors’ surgeries could cause further problems.
Cardigan Teifi councillor Catrin Miles said: “This is a serious situation that highlights the shortage of GPs nationwide.
“Higher numbers of students beginning their medical studies this year were encouraging, but this does not help the current situation.
“A list of 4,000 is a huge burden for another surgery to take on and we can only hope that a last-minute solution can still be found.”
Cllr Keith Evans, who represents Llandysul, said: “As patients, and as a locally elected councillor, we have been kept totally in the dark and the recent letter only suggests that patients will be allocated to another practice, with no consultation whatsoever if you disagree for whatever reason with your allocated practice.
A drop-in event will be held at Llandysul’s Tysul Hall on Wednesday, 3 October, from 2pm until 7pm, with a similar event scheduled for Tuesday, 20 November at Cardigan’s Guildhall between 2pm and 7pm.
Patients of both surgeries have been urged to attend the sessions to discuss their issues and provide feedback and ideas.
See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now