Closing urgent care centres would have 'dire consequences', objectors say — SkimNews
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- BCUHB is consulting on ending UPCC services at Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley, Ysbyty Alltwen and Ysbyty Gwynedd; if approved, those services would close by 31 March 2027, while UPCC services at Mold Community Hospital and Wrexham Maelor Hospital would remain unaffected.
- BCUHB said the UPCCs faced financial pressures and ongoing recruitment difficulties, even as it described access to urgent care as a “priority”.
- Llinos Medi, Plaid Cymru MP for Ynys Môn, wrote to BCUHB about the proposed closures alongside Reform Wales MS Helen Jenner and Conservative MS Janet Finch-Saunders; Finch-Saunders said the centres must remain open, warning that waiting times could increase and potentially delay treatment.
- UPCCs in north-west Wales were established in 2022 and staffed by advanced nurse practitioners, GPs and physiotherapists to treat patients with urgent health problems on the same day.
- Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley lost its four-bed hospice unit, operated by St David's Hospice, in 2025; objectors are particularly concerned about the potential loss of another service there if the UPCC closes.
- Jeff Evans said closing the Holyhead centre would have “dire consequences for the community and patients” and warned that many people would instead turn to already stretched GP surgeries and emergency departments.
- Carol Shillabeer, BCUHB's chief executive, said the board was reviewing UPCC provision and engaging with staff, with the outcome and potential future approach to be developed in coming months; the board had spent nine years in special measures over care quality, patient safety and leadership before being given a “final chance” to improve in June.
Why it matters: The proposal would remove same-day urgent care at three hospitals by 31 March 2027 if approved, with opponents warning that patients would turn to already stretched GP surgeries and A&E departments. It also comes from a BCUHB board that spent nine years in special measures over care quality, patient safety and leadership.
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