News that the Tenby, Saundersfoot and Narberth Community Services Review working group has come down in favour of reprovision of health services at Tenby Cottage Hospital at a new-build site was welcomed by local campaigners this week.
The working group was set up following a public consultation about healthcare services in Pembrokeshire to further examine future options in the area.
At the last meeting of the working group on Thursday, the consensus was for a single preferred option re-providing the services currently available at Tenby Cottage Hospital by way of a new-build within an approximate three-mile radius of Tenby.
The group also agreed that there should be a development of care facilities for residents of Narberth in Sunnybank, although the exact nature of these facilities should be determined by a separate, Narberth-based review process.
Should this be "impossible" to achieve, the group state that the only other pattern of service it would support would be the refurbishment of the existing Cottage Hospital site to provide "all the existing ambulatory services, except for minor injuries, and to provide a day care service jointly with the social services department."
This option would require 10 intermediate care beds for Tenby and Saundersfoot residents to be provided in a nursing home in the area which would also home the minor injuries service.
Care facilities for Narberth residents in Sunnybank would also be developed, with the exact nature again being determined by a separate, Narberth-based, review process.
The working group also recognised that all the options would require capital investment but, as testing the availability of capital was outside their remit, they were unable to come to any firm conclusions about the feasibility and affordability of the recommendations, although it was made clear that revenue costs should not exceed current costs.
The full report of the working group will now be presented to the Dyfed Powys Health Authority at their meeting in Builth Wells on August 7.
Tenby councillor, Mrs. Caroline Thomas, who represents the coastal area from Amroth to Manorbier on the working group along with Saundersfoot community councillor Bill Cleevely, said that people should not "get their hopes up," but felt it was a "positive step forward."
"We had a full and frank look at over a dozen different options and the general consensus of the group was new-build," she said.
Clr. Mrs. Thomas said that if the Health Authority accepted the recommendation, the next step would be for the Health Trust to explore the feasibility of a replacement for the Cottage Hospital and for the details of the care provision for Narberth residents to be finalised.
"That would mean that the proposals would go out for re-tendering," she added.
Chairman of CATCH (the Campaign for Action on Tenby Cottage Hospital), Clr. Michael Williams welcomed the news and called for an early start on building a new facility.
"This is very good news and CATCH welcome it," he said.
"This is the first time that there has been consultation which involves the community and the health professionals and their conclusions have borne out what we have been saying all along.
"I believe the recommendation was unanimous and, seeing as our MP, Mr. Nick Ainger, has said that money is not a problem, we look forward to an early commencement of the planning stages."
However, Clr. Williams also had a word of warning to the Health Trust.
"Failure to provide a new-build hospital could see CATCH taking direct non-violent action against the Health Trust," he claimed.
"People of the utmost propriety and proberty have even offered to join us in non-violent direct action to secure a hospital, such is the strength of feeling in the town.
"Enough is enough," he continued. "We have had five years of this and two rounds of consultation have come to the same conclusion. There is no reason to do anything other than to reprovide the services from the Cottage Hospital at a new-build site."
Clr. Williams was also "very concerned" that the meeting was being held in Builth Wells.
"Perhaps I'm getting paranoid, but it seems to be a ploy by the Trust to take the decision as far away from Tenby as possible to prevent CATCH from attending," he smiled.
Chairman of the League of Friends of Tenby Cottage Hospital and fellow CATCH committee member, Mrs. Pat Wright, was "optimistic" over the proposal.
"My preferred choice, naturally, would be for the first option, a new-build site," she said. "I hope that is the option that will be taken up and I hope it will not be too long and drawn out.
"I thank the panel for all their hard work and hope that this can now come to a satisfactory conclusion."