Community Health Council (CHC) members were told last week that the situation at Tenby doctor’s surgery, which went ‘live” as a health board run facility on August 1, will be monitored closely.

This will invole a CHC visit and patient experiences being reviewed.

Initial feedback was there were frustrations with the appointment system which the CHC has contacted the health board about.

There will be a chance for Neyland residents to find out more about changes to GP services in the town next month.

A drop-in will be held in September to make sure people know which surgery – Neyland and Johnston or Argyle Surgery – they will access.

Hywel Dda University Health Board accepted Argyle Medical Group’s request to close the St Clements Surgery earlier this year.

Neyland and Johnston Surgery will relocate to the St Clements site to accommodate an increase in patients.

Deputy chief officer of the Pembrokeshire locality CHC Helen Williams said the drop-in at Neyland Athletic Club will “monitoring patients concerns” and it was hoped the health board “will have an answer to those on the day.”

Patients can choose to opt-out of moving to the Neyland and Johnston practice and stay with Argyle, with appointments at the surgery in Pembroke Dock.

Neyland patients can visit the drop-in between 2 and 7 pm on September 10 at the Athletic Club.

The roll-out of the 111 telephone service has also been delayed as the health board deals with the “fragility” of its out-of-hours service members were told.

It was also revealed at the CHC locality meeting on August 15, that around 5,000 people filled in a consultation response about the planned health board shake up in west Wales.

The CHC reported that the main “theme” of concerns were that people didn’t know what a ‘community hospital’ was, the loss of accident and emergency and how long a new build hospital would take.

Mrs. Williams said that more responses may have been received since the last update from Hywel Dda University Health Board, which put the figure at 5,000.

Members of the public at the meeting claimed the health board questionnaire was “complicated” and put people off filling it in, adding that many felt signing an online petition was enough.

Of the Pembrokeshire public drop-ins regarding Transforming Clinical Services Mrs. Williams said Letterston was “very well attended” but Haverfordwest was “a bit quiet.”

There was a good attendance in Saundersfoot and Milford Haven, she added but very few in Tumble. Attendance was better in Carmarthen and Llanelli as well as Aberystwyth and Cardigan.

The full CHC met with the company behind the consultation, ORS, on Friday (August 17) to hear initial findings before the outcome is published next month.