Local councillors have expressed their disappointment that the ‘walk-in’ scheme staged over the Easter period at Tenby hospital may be scrapped.

Speaking at Tuesday night’s meeting of Tenby Town Council, Clr. Mrs. Caroline Thomas, who is also secretary of the South East Pembrokeshire Coast Health Network (SEPCHN), told her colleagues that after she and chairman Mansel Thomas had attended an evaluation meeting on the recent ‘walk-in’ Minor Ailment and Injury pilot scheme, it seemed the initiative by the Hywel Dda Health Board had been set up to fail.

“The general consensus was that the pilot had been set up to fail, and they knew that it wasn’t going to continue,” remarked Clr. Mrs. Thomas.

“We’d love to find out at SEPCHN who told the Health Board to do it.

“We left the evaluation meeting with the impression that the scheme would not happen again, and we were all very upset,” she continued, stating that she believed the scheme had been successful, with hundreds of patients attending over a 10-day period.

Deputy Mayor, Clr. Mrs. Sue Lane said that she had twice used the facility over this period, as she had her hand in plaster and couldn’t drive.

“I found it to be a wonderful service,” she told her fellow members.

“Rather than letting this just pass, we should write to the Hywel Dda Health Board and newly elected Assembly Members, to let them know how well used the service was, and for them to re-look at their decision,” said the Mayor, Clr. Laurence Blackhall.

Clr. Mrs. Christine Brown also suggested writing to Pembrokeshire County Council’s health representative to see if the person who ordered the scheme to be scrapped could be named.

Clr. Mrs. Thomas thanked all those involved and fellow members of SEPCHN for campaigning for health services in the area, and for making sure that the issue doesn’t come off any agendas.