PLAID Cymru politicians are calling for an urgent review after services were moved from Ysbyty Gwynedd to Glan Clwyd, giving patients from Dwyfor and Meirionnydd further to travel.

They are calling on the Welsh Government to undertake an urgent and comprehensive impact assessment of the effects of moving vascular services eastwards on patients living in the most rural parts of the region.

The call comes a month after Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board reneged on a pledge to keep the world-renowned emergency vascular service at Ysbyty Gwynedd, Bangor, performing a U-turn on a promise to safeguard the well-established in-patient and limb salvage service.

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MP Liz Saville Roberts added: “Any downgrading of services at Ysbyty Gwynedd seems illogical, ill-conceived and ignorant of the geography of rural Wales, especially given some of the distances people in Dwyfor Meirionnydd already have to travel to access current services.

“This in itself is an arduous journey but when dealing with medical emergencies, it is unacceptable and an unnecessary strain to place on patients and their worried families. The extra travel involved coupled with perennial concerns about the availability of ambulances in our most rural communities is an unacceptable burden which I fear could be dangerous to health and even life threatening in serious cases.”

Arfon MP Hywel Williams said: “We’ve now had written confirmation from the Labour minister for health that they have no plans to keep emergency vascular services at Ysbyty Gwynedd, despite earlier assurances that the service would be safeguarded. Local GPs in our constituency were given a guarantee that vascular surgery and emergency admissions would be maintained at Bangor, providing full support for emergency patients and in-patients. This latest announcement is a complete reversal of policy and BCUHB and the Welsh Government have simultaneously broken their promise to local people whilst pushing ahead with cumulative attempts at downgrading services at Ysbyty Gwynedd. If the Welsh Government persist with plans to remove emergency provisions from Ysbyty Gwynedd then they must, without delay, publish a comprehensive impact assessment of the effects of withdrawing these services on patients living in rural parts of the county. Those living in isolated communities who already face significant challenges in accessing healthcare will doubtless bear the brunt of moving this service further away from their reach, putting patients at risk if this agenda of shifting vital services eastwards persists.”

Evan Moore, executive medical director for BCUHB said: “Under the current service model, patients who live in rural locations in Anglesey and Gwynedd travel to Wrexham for emergency vascular surgery for half of the week.

“By locating a fit-for-purpose service at Glan Clwyd Hospital, we are able to both safeguard the future of this service in north Wales and ensure equity of access to high quality vascular services for all of our population, regardless of where they live.”A Welsh Government spokesperson added: “Vascular surgery will still be available at Ysbyty Gwynedd for patients who need routine surgery. Those who need more complex, emergency surgery will be treated at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd in a new £2.3million, state of the art, hybrid theatre. This is no secret, the decision was made over a year ago by the health board. “This is planned service change supported by the Royal College of Surgeons and based on independent expert advice from the Vascular Society of Great Britain and Ireland. "Because of the changes being made, the health board has been successful in recruiting new consultant vascular surgeons."