6. What is the Welsh Government doing to improve health services in Preseli Pembrokeshire? OQ59024

Hywel Dda University Health Board is responsible for the provision of safe, sustainable high-quality healthcare services for its local population, based on the best and most up-to-date clinical evidence and advice.

Thank you for that response, Minister. As you know, there are concerns over primary healthcare services in Solva in my constituency, following the news that the GP partner has announced her retirement. Hywel Dda University Health Board has held some public engagement on this development and was writing to all patients registered at the surgery, and that's extremely important, as the local community must be consulted on how they think provision can continue to be delivered in the future. This of course follows on from Neyland and Johnston surgery in my constituency, which is now under health board control because of a retirement at that practice as well. Minister, people in my constituency are concerned that access to a GP in parts of Pembrokeshire is becoming increasingly difficult. Can you tell us what the Welsh Government is doing to address this matter? What work are you doing with the local health board to ensure that people can access a local GP wherever they live in Pembrokeshire?

Thanks very much. I'm very aware of the situation in Solva. I can't go very far without somebody bringing it up with me when I'm home. I'm pleased to say that I met with the chair and chief executive of Hywel Dda health board on Thursday, and I was able to discuss this issue with them. As you noted, there has been an engagement with the community already. It is very difficult, because obviously we could put all the measures we want in place, but the key thing is how do you get a GP to go there. There is a real challenge when it comes to single-handed practices. We do have to, perhaps, think creatively about how we go about filling these roles that are quite difficult. I know that we had a real challenge in the past in attracting someone, for example, to Goodwick, where we actually put a £20,000 additional golden handshake on the table and still nobody came. These are not easy to resolve. You can't force people to go to these places. But obviously, our approach is to try and make sure that these people don't work alone and that they have a team around them. But even then, what we find works best is when you have a community of GPs working together. That's obviously difficult in places like Solva, so we just have to try and be creative and work with the community. But I know that the health board is going to make every effort to see what they can put in place by the termination date of 31 March.