A Welsh health board was forced to apologise after a ‘discrepancy’ in GP practice boundaries meant patients could not access GP services.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board told Pulse that it was aware that ‘a small number of residents’ in Saltney Ferry, Flintshire, ‘had issues’ accessing GP services’ due to a discrepancy relating to practice boundaries.
According to local newspaper The Leader, residents living in the Ewart Street and North Street area said they have been left in ‘no-man’s land’, as they are unable to register with a GP.
Resident Jordan Wynne said she ‘tried everywhere’ to register her newborn baby, Stormi, ‘but was told she is outside each practice’s catchment area’.
In a post on Facebook, she said she was having ‘an absolute nightmare’ trying to get her baby to see a GP.
She said: ‘We have been in hospital with her the past couple of days because she has been poorly and on an IV drip and antibiotics so we definitely need a doctor for her.’
And other people living in the area have faced similar recent issues, labelling it ‘absolute madness’, according to The Leader.
The health board’s director of primary care contracting and commissioning Lynne Joannou said they are ‘working to review the situation’.
She said: ‘We understand that a small number of residents in Saltney Ferry have had issues gaining access to local GP services, due to a discrepancy relating to the GP practice boundary, for which we apologise.
‘We are working with partners to review the situation and ensure that affected local residents can access the support they need.’
Local councillors have helped Stormi get temporarily registered with a GP over the England border in Chester ‘until the matter is resolved’.
According to a BMA survey, over nine in 10 Welsh GPs are ‘routinely unable’ to meet patient demand due to high workload.
The survey, which was also presented to members of the Senedd, found that 87% of GPs feared their increasing workloads are ‘impacting patient safety’.
And last month, the BMA Wales GP Committee warned that they are ‘actively evaluating all available options’ for a dispute against the Government following delays to the 2024/25 contract negotiations.
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