Pensioners left in the cold as Trinant Medical Centre closes

Patients turned up for appointments at the now closed Trinant Medical Centre after not being told it had shut.

A Plaid Cymru councillor has accused health bosses of providing a second class health service to patients in the village.

Pensioners are having to pay for three-mile taxi journeys to the joint practice, Abernant Surgery in Abertillery.

Cllr Keith Lloyd first raised concerns over the future of the surgery last year and said he will be contacting the Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) to ask what support is being given to elderly and infirm patients who have to travel to Abertillery.

He said: “I have received a number of complaints about the continuing deterioration of the practice at Trinant Medical Centre, after I wrote last year.

“The health board said there were problems with shortage of GPs to cover the surgery and other issues relating to the poor state of repair to the building and a sewerage problem.

“I received three complaints of patients turning up to the surgery for an appointment to find it closed. Another pensioner, who is 84, told me he must phone the surgery before 8am to book an appointment at the joint practice at Abertillery.

“The impression I get from correspondence that I have received from the health board is that this has been their aim for a long time.

“The issue is that Trinant, which is a Community First Area, should expect a far better service from the health board than they have received. It has become a second class service and that is not good enough.”

The practice said they will provide home visits to patients unable to attend Abernant Surgery in Abertillery but Cllr Lloyd urged the health board to begin looking for a suitable site for a replacement medical centre in Trinant.

Abernant Surgery would not answer Caerphilly Observer’s questions directly but a spokesperson for ABUHB said: “There have been difficulties recruiting doctors to staff the surgery and as a result a decision was made by the practice not to open the branch surgery, but to maintain the services in Abertillery. We apologise for any inconvenience this causes to patients and we will continue to work with the practice to provide GP services in the area.”