URGENT calls are being made for greater overall clinical staff cover for the Dwyfor area after a Pwllheli surgery cancelled their appointments due to lack of doctors.

Treflan Surgery issued a notice to its 7,500 patients on Tuesday, 16 February informing them that due to severe clinical staff shortage they had to resort to seeing emergencies only for the remainder of the week.

Practice manager Tracey Banks said the surgery has been failed by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) who has still not addressed the on-going problem of GP shortages in the area.

She said: “Due to severe clinical staff shortage, we have had to resort to seeing emergencies only for the remainder of the week.

“Patient safety is our priority and by applying this policy we can ensure that people who are acutely unwell can be seen the same day.

“Unfortunately, there is no availability for any locums in the area we can utilise.

“To compound issues, BCUHB imposed a ‘closed list’ on neighbouring Nefyn Surgery last year and we are therefore required, along with Botwnnog Surgery, to see their temporary residents and any new patients who would come under their catchment area also.

“We have been in discussions with BCUHB over recent years, where we have requested assistance and informed them of our deep concerns regarding the shortage of GPs in the area and to date we have received very little in the way of support and assistance.”

The surgery currently has five GPs, with the majority working part-time.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts is now calling for greater doctor coverage throughout her constituency.

She said: “I have written to Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board chiefs to request, as a matter of urgency, greater overall clinical staff cover for the Dwyfor Meirionnydd area and asked what measures are being explored to address the chronic and worsening shortage of GP’s in Pwllheli and across the rest of the constituency.

“People cannot access health services without first of all going through their GPs. The whole system is dependent on GPs serving as gatekeepers of the health system. It’s incumbent upon the health board to do all it can to prevent the situation from worsening.

“An an immediate step, the health board should ensure more locum doctors are available to plug the gap where there is a chronic shortage of GPs.”

BCHUB say they haven’t been alerted to any specific short term staffing issues by the Pwllheli practice but would support their decision to take the steps they consider necessary to make sure that patients with the most urgent clinical needs can continue to be seen.

Wyn Thomas, assistant area director of primary care, said: “We recognise nationally there are difficulties with recruiting GPs.

“Most GP practices, including the Treflan Surgery, are independent contractors and are not run by the health board.

“However we do provide specific support to GP practices and a salaried GP, employed by the health board, is now working three days each week with practices on the Llyn Peninsula, including one day a week in the Treflan Surgery.

“We are working to attract more GPs to north Wales with initiatives such as our ‘Outstanding GP’ programme and the ‘Work where you want to live’ recruitment campaign. “We also support surgeries to develop the roles of other health professionals working in primary care to provide care for more patients, freeing up more GPs’ time to see those people who require the attention of a doctor.”