"It is now time to show confidence in our district hospital, not talk it down," says local AM Christine Gwyther. The comment was made after Ms. Gwyther attended a meeting between members of the Save Withbyush Action Team (SWAT) and Health Minister, Dr. Brian Gibbons, at Cardiff Bay last week. "Dr. Gibbons left us in no doubt at all that Options 1 and 2 - the downgrading or closing of Withybush - are totally and completely off the table," said the AM afterwards. She continued: "As the Government Health Minister, he is supporting Option 3 by the Pembrokeshire Community Health Council. This will see the strengthening of services at Withybush. "Clinicians and patients alike have welcomed the new A&E unit and the new MRI scanner at Withybush. The management team at Withybush are now putting together plans which will improve key services like cancer chemotherapy. They have also been given the go-ahead to apply for a kidney dialysis unit at Withybush, so that patients will not have to travel to Carmarthen. The theatres need upgrading, and I will be supporting plans for new theatres in the coming months. "It is time now to show some confidence in our district general hospital - not talk it down. I welcome the input that clinicians have already made, and I hope that doctors and management work closer together in the future - for the health service, and most importantly for the patients who use it."
