A hospital consultant has urged health officials to ask for more money instead of making cuts. Consultant Chris Overton was among about 100 people at a Pembrokeshire and Derwen NHS Trust meeting complaining about its plans to reduce services. The trust, with a £2.4m deficit, claim cuts are temporary and that they will not have too much impact on patients. The trust originally had to save some £4.5m, and has saved some £2.5m through efficiency savings. It is cutting another £1m through reductions in services, but that still leaves a £1m shortfall. "They can't make more cuts. They should go back to the Welsh Assembly and tell them they have got to stop squeezing," said Mr. Overton. "The people of Pembrokeshire, and in fact the people of all the areas of Wales, deserve better." The trust has assured people that no urgent or emergency patients will be affected, and has said it had rejected some initial proposals on safety grounds.
