At the latest South East Pembrokeshire Community Health Network (SEPCHN) meeting held at the New Hedges Village Hall, a large gathering was updated with news of local health developments.

At the meeting was the Director for Pembrokeshire, Elaine Lorton, who led a large group of Hywel Dda University Health Board staff with responsibilities covering a wide range of health and social care matters, illustrating how services were being introduced and evolving.

One very important issue of the local service, as discussed in the previous meeting, is Care in the Community. Efforts are being made to free hospital beds as soon as possible and return patients to their home.

This requires effective health and social care support, which as discussed in the previous meeting required coordination, sometimes lacking.

Reports by the Community Health Council had highlighted concerns over delays for patients leaving hospital because of a lack of the right care and community care services when they are medically fit to leave hospital.

It was appropriate therefore for the Health Board’s Lucie Jane Whelan, jointly with Linda Jones of the Pembrokeshire County Council, to announce the a new initiative, a Healthcare Directory, with a much broader remit which when implemented could well support home-based patients and to be launched soon.

It will comprise a nursing element, re-ablement team, intermediate care team, care and repair, occupational therapy, physiotherapy, a preventative falls service and joint discharge team.

The appointment of Community Connectors, would play a central role in this support and a number were at the meeting to describe their role led by their manager John Adams. Care in the Community is a growing element of NHS provision and the SEPCHN will attempt to keep up to date and report at the next meeting.

Of concern to the local community is the situation with regard to the lack of full time GPs at the Tenby Surgery.

Matt McGovern, HB manager with responsibility for GP practices in the area, described how there is now an effective multi-disciplinary team at the surgery providing services over a broad field, supporting the one local GP and team of locum GP’s.

Tenby surgery is now part of a local cluster of four surgeries working, interacting and supporting each other, such as through a new music therapy service. The surgery is still managed by the Health Board and important developments will hopefully be announced soon.

Surgery patients can use an online service ‘My Health’ to book and cancel appointments, request repeat prescriptions or update personal information. The surgery is also keen to receive feedback from patients through patient questionnaires available at the surgery.

A major point of concern to the practice, supported by SEPCHN members, was the fact that there were large numbers of missed appointments. In January this year 285 were recorded.

The issue of the future of the Network was discussed. There was a strong feeling that the SEPCHN should continue, stressing its aims of updating the community on local health developments and engaging with the Health Board when it was felt that there were issues to oppose such as the earlier closure of the MIU.

However greater efforts should also be made to involve younger members of the community.

It was suggested that a change of time to evening meetings could possibly achieve this and an attempt to discover their views on local health matters.