An MS has welcomed the “fantastic news” following news that a new contractor has been appointed to run a GP practice in the Conwy Valley.
Llŷr Gruffydd, who represents North Wales in the Senedd, said that he hopes the development will “reassure local residents” who use Meddygfa Betws y Coed practice.
Had a new contractor not been found after it was announced that doctors at Betws y Coed GP practice are to end their contract in April 2024, many locals would have been forced 36-mile round trip to visit the GP.
Following that shock announcement Llyr Gruffydd MS, Conwy County Councillor Liz Roberts, representatives of Llais North Wales and Betws y Coed Community Council, held a public meeting about the issue with the bosses of Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB).
Following the meeting, the health board has said that it has received responses to its tender seeking new GMS Contractors to take on the GP as well as the medicine dispensing service in Betws y Coed.
BCUHB has now confirmed that a new contractor has been appointed to take over the practice.
Llŷr Gruffydd MS said: “I am delighted to hear the fantastic news that Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board have been able to appoint a new contractor to run Meddygfa Betws y Coed practice.
“I hope the news will reassure local residents who were understandably very concerned when they heard that doctors at Betws y Coed GP practice were bringing their contract to an end in April 2024.
“When I heard that the current contract was coming to an end I called for at least the same level of provision to be maintained in the area, and now it looks like that will be the case.
“I understand that there is now a process now in place to ensure all the governance and legal paperwork is in place and that the health board will be in a position to share more information once it has been completed.
“I also understand that the staff at the practice have been kept informed and are aware of this position.
“I hope that the health board will be able to move forward quickly and ensure that everything is in place to ensure a continuity of services for local residents by April 2024.”
He added: “The work done by Llais,the patients’ voice here in the North, to organise the public meeting together withlocal councillor Liz Roberts and the wider community was important to emphasise the seriousness of the situation. I was also heartened by the willingness of both BCUHB’s chief executive Carol Shillabeer and chair Dyfed Edwards to come to the meeting and explain their positions. This is, I hope, the start of a new partnership between the health board and communities across the North that will see patients get better outcomes.”
