The prognosis at Neyland surgery continues to remain uncertain, despite Hywel Dda Health Board’s decision to manage the practice for the foreseeable future.

At this week’s meeting of Neyland Town Council, Cllr Mike Harry confirmed that whilst the Board’s original intention was to manage both the Neyland and Johnston surgeries for 12 months on the understanding that it would be handed over to any GPs prepared to take it on, recent discussions suggest that the Board will continue to manage it for a minimum of 12 months before it goes out to tender.

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“The Welsh Government would like the process to be a little quicker than this, so hopefully, if there’s any interested party, this will hopefully be the case,” he said.

“This will obviously be beneficial to Neyland.”

Cllr Harry went on to say that there have already been meetings with respective GPs who have expressed an interest in taking on both Neyland and Johnston surgeries and retaining the practice as a whole unit.

“There are doctors interested in taking it on, so it’s important to act fast while the interest is still there,” he said.

“But I’m concerned about Hywel Dda’s reasonings behind this. They’ve just taken over a GP managed practice with the result that it’s now become a Board managed practice and in my opinion, to go out to tender quickly will give certainty to staff. So why not put it out to tender now?”

The Neyland surgery is currently being operated by locum GPs while the previous medical team, including the practise manager, health care assistant and nurses, have all remained on site.

Neyland Town Council has also confirmed that certain medical requirements could now operate from the Community Hub including physical exercise and therapy sessions which will be accommodated in the gym.