FEARS have been raised that Welsh speakers in Penygroes will be unable to speak to a doctor in their native tongue following the retirement of a local GP at the end of this month.

Arfon AM Siân Gwenllian is seeking assurances from Betsi Cadwaladr and the Welsh Government that Welsh-speaking GP services will in the future be available to the patients in Penygroes and surrounding areas following the retirement of the area’s only Welsh-speaking doctor.

Both the health board and the government have said they are aware of a language issue in the area but Betsi Cadwaladr also stated that because GPs are ‘independent contractors’ they do not fall under the board’s Welsh language requirements.

Ms Gwenllian is concerned about the lack of response to her concerns,

“I wrote to the health secretary Vaughan Gething in April voicing concerns that the Welsh-speaking service would be lost following the retirement of Dr Morris Jones of the Dolwenith Surgery in Penygroes,” she said.

“I have not had a reply despite writing to him again recently.

“I raised the matter with the chair and chief of Betsi Cadwaladr in May and they promised to look into the matter but I have had no news.

“Local councillors and electors have been raising the matter and are awaiting news, and the Welsh Language Commissioner has also promised to look into the situation."

A spokesperson for Betsi Cadwaladr said: “The GP contractor identified to take over the care of patients upon Dr Jones’s retirement does not personally speak Welsh, but we are actively supporting him to recruit a Welsh-speaking GP to the practice.

“Primary care providers – including GPs – are independent, self-employed contractors, and therefore not bound by the health board’s Welsh-language requirements."

A Welsh Government spokesperson added: “We expect all health boards to provide primary care services which meet the needs of their populations, including Welsh language needs."

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