The Deputy Health Minister, Vaughan Gething AM, was welcomed to Withybush Hospital on Monday to meet Hywel Dda University Health Board staff and patients.

Mr. Gething visited a new community-based eye care service which has reduced the journey time for hundreds of patients travelling some of the greatest distances in the UK to access eye care.

Patients in the Hywel Dda University Health Board travel to one of two sites to access wet AMD services, either at Amman Valley Hospital, in Ammanford, or Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth.

For some patients in Pembrokeshire and south Ceredigion this has required return journeys in excess of 100 miles for review, and sometimes a second journey for treatment (injection).

Now, thanks to Welsh Government funding for a pilot project, the UHB has been able to establish additional services in Pembrokeshire and south Ceredigion, bringing care closer to home for these communities.

Vaughan Gething said: “I’m pleased to see how the £400,000 investment from the Welsh Government is making it easier for people to get treatment for wet AMD closer to their homes - this is an example of the NHS providing the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

“This new service will cut journey times, ensuring people are seen more quickly closer to their homes. It will also free up time for hospital-based consultants to manage people with the most complex conditions.”

Consultant ophthalmologist Mr. Richard Wintle said: “This project will improve the quality of life for approximately 340 patients, often elderly and vulnerable, currently experiencing a significant travel burden. It will also release some capacity within our whole service, allowing us to treat more people who are waiting for care and improve patient outcomes.”

The UHB is currently analysing the best locations within community settings for the project. It is hoped the news sites will be up and running and treating patients within the next three to four months. In the meantime, the UHB has been able to build some capacity at Withybush Hospital to review Pembrokeshire patients locally, for the first time since the service was set-up some six years ago, so that they do not have to travel to Amman Valley Hospital for this aspect of their care.

Mr. Wintle said: “The feedback from patients so far has been really positive as it makes a huge difference to their lives to have that monthly journey for review reduced so dramatically. Between 35 and 40 per cent of those consultations result in patients then having to travel to Ammanford for injections and so we look forward to progressing this project so that they can receive both their treatment and review within their own locality.”

Wet AMD clinic patient, Mrs. Lesley Jenkins, added: “For me this means I don’t have to travel from Pembroke Dock to Ammanford for an appointment - it saves me a 100 mile round-trip!”

During his visit, the Deputy Minister met with some of the international doctors who have now been employed directly by Hywel Dda University Health Board as clinical fellows to support the junior doctor rota and maintain emergency and medical services at the hospital for the Pembrokeshire population.

They have been provided with a two-year training scheme which mirrors many elements of the traditional core medical training (CMT) scheme for junior doctors in the UK after Withybush Hospital was not allocated any CMTs in August of this year.

The training programme offered by Hywel Dda University Health Board is the first of its kind in Wales and aims to recruit doctors to rural hospitals in an environment of a shortage of junior doctors across the UK. As part of the scheme, the university health board purchases an e-portfolio for each doctor to enable them to build their competencies and achieve qualifications just like other trainee doctors in the NHS.

The Deputy Minister also visited the Midwife Led Unit in the hospital, one year on from its official opening.

The units have been established following changes to how some women and children’s services are delivered in west Wales.

The changes to maternity care in the Hywel Dda University Health Board area involved the creation of midwife led units at Withybush Hospital, Glangwili Hospital and Bronglais Hospital.

Consultant led maternity care is provided at Bronglais and Glangwili, and level two neonatal services are also provided at Glangwili.

The Welsh Government’s strategy for maternity services recommends that midwife led units are available across Wales should women choose to give birth there.

Since the midwife-led units were set up, only 26 per cent of first-time mothers booked to give birth at Withybush Hospital have been subsequently transferred to the consultant led unit at Glangwili Hospital - significantly below the national average of 36 per cent.