The Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has approved the creation of a new primary care service for around 21,000 patients in the Prestatyn area.
At a meeting the board gave their unanimous approval to the full business case for ‘healthy Prestatyn iach’ which sets out how the new service will operate.
Over the last three months Health Board staff have been working on plans to develop the way local health services are provided. This became necessary after GPs in the town’s Pendyffryn Medical Group and Seabank Surgery gave notice that they would be ending their contracts to provide NHS services at the end of March.
The new model of care has been developed after looking at how some of the most successful local health services are provided in other places, both in the UK and abroad. It will be based around expanded multi-professional ‘KeyTeams’ comprising a GP, nurse practitioner, pharmacist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, and community health workers.
This KeyTeam approach means that patients will see the most appropriate health professional, without always having to be seen first by a GP, so they get the care they need more quickly.
The Health Board’s Area Director for Conwy and Denbighshire, Bethan Jones, said, ‘I am thrilled that the board has approved these recommendations. These developments will mean we can offer a better, more responsive service for patients and offer more appealing opportunities when we are recruiting staff.’
