Pledge to keep health centre open (From Free Press Series)

Pledge to keep health centre open

TREVETHIN Health Centre will not close despite doctors threatening to pull out, health chiefs have pledged.

At a recent local health board meeting, doctors agreed to stay - at least for the moment - and although changes are on the cards it will not close, according to the local health board chief executive, John Skinner.

He said: "We are anxious to tell people that there is no question that services will continue to be provided from Trevethin, but it is important to find what kind of service is best."

GPs questioned the viability of the centre, reporting that in Trevethin they were only seeing between six to ten patients a day, whereas in Abersychan they dealt with around 30 each day.

The two doctors serving Trevethin are based in Abersychan.

Mr Skinner said: "Figures show that of all the people sent to Trevethin Health centre only 3.4 percent get referred to a general practitioner, the rest are dealt with by the nurse."

The National Public Health Service is carrying out a Needs Assessment of the area, which will review the level of services provided and the needs of practices and their patients. It is expected to finish in December.

Mr Skinner said: "We need to look at the needs of the community and come up with a range of options to find the most suitable ones."

The assessment is designed to provide a picture of what services would be appropriate for Trevethin. "What we really want is to build a comprehensive and accurate picture of the needs of that community," he added.

Following the assessment a number of options are expected to arise, which will be up for discussion with doctors and patients.

Any major changes proposed would become a matter for consultation.

Possible options include removing the two Abersychan GPs from their Trevethin appointments, freeing up money to employ one GP to cover Trevethin. Another possibility is to provide transport from Trevethin to one of the other practices. Mr Skinner added: "None of these is set in stone".