The leader of Caerphilly County Borough Council has expressed his worry over proposals to close a GP surgery in Aberbargoed.
Cllr Keith Reynolds, who represents the Aberbargoed ward, said proposals to close the community’s only surgery would make it “impossible” for some residents to receive treatment elsewhere.
Patients of Bryntirion Surgery’s Aberbargoed branch received consultation letters from Saturday November 12, stating a request to close the Pant Street premises had been made by managers of the main Bargoed surgery.
The closure request was made after the branch struggled to fill its doctor vacancies, and if shut down, would leave residents facing an extra mile journey to the surgery on West Street, Bargoed.
The current consultation process ends on Wednesday December 14.
Cllr Reynolds said: “The obvious concern is that it is the only surgery in Aberbargoed, and it would be impossible for some patients to access the surgery in Bargoed.
“[The Bargoed surgery] is not on a bus route. The nearest bus stop to it is in Bargoed town, and to access the surgery, patients would have to negotiate steep hills and small streets. In inclement weather, it would be impossible for elderly patients and young mothers with pushchairs to reach it.
“I know of one elderly woman who had to pay £12 out of her meagre pension for a taxi to the Bargoed surgery.”
A spokesman for Aneurin Bevan University Health Board said: “We received a request from Bryntirion Surgery on October 4 seeking to close the branch surgery in Aberbargoed and consolidate services at the main surgery. This request was made due to the ongoing difficulties experienced by the practice in recruiting GPs to existing vacancies.
“A branch surgery panel will be convened in January 2017, which will be chaired by an independent member of the health board with representatives from both Aneurin Bevan Community Health Council and the Local Medical Committee along with senior managers of the health board.”
However, with services at Bryntirion Surgery in Bargoed already said to be at capacity, there are fears that people may stop using their GPs altogether.
Cllr Reynolds added: “There’s a real worry that people may become reluctant to make appointments with all the travel involved.”