Emergency GP out-of-hours appointments in Pembrokeshire will not be affected by major changes to the NHS, local health chiefs assured this week.
Patients throughout the county have been reassured that they will still be able to see a doctor if they fall sick overnight or at a weekend.
New GP contracts which came into effect yesterday (Thursday) are part of a national drive to improve patient care. The contracts allow doctors to choose which services they will provide.
Many doctors in Pembrokeshire are planning to opt out of providing out-of-hours cover. But Pembrokeshire Local Health Board say that patients will not see any immediate changes to their health care.
Pembrokeshire Local Health Board chairman Chris Martin said it was important that patients were reassured that there would be no break in GP services.
He said: "There has been a great deal of publicity about the new GP contracts and we want to avoid confusion about out-of-hours cover.
"Firstly, all doctors in Pembrokeshire will be continuing to provide out-of-hours cover until September. Secondly, any changes to the service will be well-publicised and introduced gradually.
"Most importantly, anyone who requires a doctor in the evenings or weekends will still be seen.
"We are working closely with all our GP practices and their staff to make sure that everyone knows what is happening and that information is readily available for patients.
"We very much welcome the new contract and working arrangements for our GPs and the much needed extra investment that will help improve patient care."
As a result of the changes, spending on GP practices in Wales is set to rise by 33 per cent over the next three years. GPs will have more flexibility to choose which services they wish to provide to meet the needs of their patients.
All GP practices will continue to deliver essential services to sick patients and care for those with chronic diseases, such as diabetes, angina and asthma as well as patients with terminal illness.