Healthcare provision in Eifionydd took centre stage at a public meeting in Porthmadog to discuss health service concerns.

Around 200 people attended the meeting following the news that the owners of the building housing Porthmadog’s GP surgery have put in a planning application to turn it into flats. MS Mabon ap Gwynfor has been inundated with messages from residents concerned by the proposals.

Other local health issues were also on the agenda following an announcement by BUPA that they are looking to sell their dental practice in Penrhyndeudraeth, and many residents experiencing long waits for ambulances.

Mr ap Gwynfor said: “People in Port, Criccieth, Beddgelert and elsewhere were contacting the office extremely concerned at the news that a planning application had been put in for the surgery in Porthmadog. My office has also received numerous communications from residents in the area regarding other issues relating to health provision and it was obvious that people were looking for answers.

“Having been in regular contact with the health board we were able to inform residents that the board had a contract on the building until 2030 and have no intention of breaking that contract. It is also my view that any planning application for that site is unlikely to be successful in the short term because of new regulations regarding phosphates. Porthmadog is in the Glaslyn Special Area of Conservation, which means that development has essentially come to a standstill until they can find a way of stripping the phosphates out of sewerage before it is released into the water.

“However, there have been demands to develop an improved health and wellbeing centre in Porthmadog for many years, and it’s a shame that so far nothing has been done. However, the public meeting was a perfect opportunity to start that conversation and try to put it on the health board’s agenda. It was clear that there is a demand for developing a new centre in the town, and many referred to the old Coliseum site as a perfect place for such a development. This has been a wake up call to the health board, and we are now calling on them to actively develop a plan for a new health and wellbeing centre to be placed in the town. We will happily work with them to achieve this goal and do everything we can in order to facilitate it.”

Cllr Nia Jeffreys, who chaired the meeting, said: “People in Porthmadog have been so worried about losing the surgery in the town. Since the planning application went in to demolish the surgery people have been stopping me on the street to say that they can’t manage without a surgery here.

We need a fit for purpose surgery in the town and I invite Betsi Cadwalader to start a dialogue with us in the community. Where will the surgery be in Porthmadog? How big will it be? What other services are needed as well as a surgery? There are many questions unanswered with the lease running out in seven years! The people in Porthmadog, Cricieth, Eifionydd must be part of finding the answers.”

She added: “Thank you to everyone who attended the meeting with every seat filled. It show the strength of feeling in the town. The message was clear. Thank you to front line staff, be they nurses, doctors, reception staff for your hard work in difficult circumstances. Going forward the health board must listen to the concerns of people who use health services.

“The waiting list for a dentist is over 1800 people. Sadly, without drastic action from the health board, I fear the majority of those people will never see a dentist.”

MP Liz Saville Roberts said: “While the health board is keen to reassure people in Porthmadog and the surrounding communities that local GP services are guaranteed, it is evident that frontline medical care is under extreme pressure in the area. Senior management at Betsi Cadwaladr need to recognise the reality that front line health services are understaffed and oversubscribed. The time has therefore come for a holistic discussion on future health needs and service provision in Porthmadog, Cricieth and indeed throughout Dwyfor and Meirionnydd. I am concerned that an approach of ‘digital by default’ will simply fail to meet the needs of an older and geographically-scattered population without evidence-based planning.”

Ffion Johnstone, West Integrated Health Community Director at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “Hwb Iechyd Eifionydd, which also incorporates Criccieth Practice, is accommodated in a leased building in Porthmadog.

“We have a lease on the surgery which runs until 2030, and while it has always been our intention to relocate the surgery to new premises, this is not imminent. We are currently exploring potential sites within the town in advance of developing a business case.

“We are committed to ensuring we continue to develop our primary care services in the Porthmadog area. A new Skills, Education and Training Hub has been established in Hwb Iechyd Eifionydd, which will seek to train and develop newly qualified health professionals, such as Occupational Therapists and Pharmacists, to prepare them for a career within primary care in the Dwyfor area.”