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PONTYATES SURGERY: Senedd candidate Carl Peters-Bond joins campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn as pressure on health board mounts

Independent Senedd candidate and Kidwelly Town Mayor Carl Peters-Bond has publicly backed the campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn in Pontyates, joining a growing list of political figures demanding that Hywel Dda University Health Board halt its closure plans.

Peters-Bond, who is standing as the Sir Gaerfyrddin and Kidwelly constituency candidate at the upcoming Senedd election, is himself a patient at the surgery. He met with campaign co-ordinator Clare Treharne outside the practice to hear residents’ concerns and discuss the growing frustration with the process being led by the health board.

He said the surgery was far more than a building to the people who relied on it. “Pontyates Surgery is not just a building — it is a lifeline. For many residents, especially older people and those without transport, losing this surgery would mean losing access to basic healthcare. That is simply unacceptable,” he said.

Peters-Bond said he had been struck by the strength of feeling among patients and campaigners. “I’ve spoken to patients, campaigners and local councillors. The message is the same every time: people feel ignored, sidelined and worn down by a process that seems designed to reach a predetermined outcome. This community deserves better,” he said.

The campaign to save Meddygfa’r Sarn has gathered considerable momentum in recent months. Hundreds of residents have attended protest events, a petition has passed 1,000 signatures, a human chain was formed around the building, and campaigners have lodged a formal complaint about the way the consultation process has been handled. Local councillors have repeatedly said they have lost confidence in the health board’s approach.

Peters-Bond warned that closure would have knock-on consequences across the wider rural healthcare system. Patients dispersed to other practices would pile pressure onto already overstretched surgeries, travel times for appointments would increase sharply for those without cars, and vulnerable residents would face new barriers to accessing even routine care.

He said the pattern of rural communities losing services first was one that had to end. “Rural communities like Pontyates are always the first to lose services and the last to see investment. This pattern has to end. Healthcare should be based on need, not postcode,” he said.

He is calling on Hywel Dda University Health Board to halt the closure process, publish transparent evidence for any proposed changes, engage meaningfully with residents and campaigners, and commit to maintaining GP provision in Pontyates.

“People have lost trust in this process — and with good reason. The health board must reset its approach, listen to the community and guarantee that GP services will remain in Pontyates,” Peters-Bond said.

Hywel Dda University Health Board has not yet responded to the latest calls for the process to be paused.

Swansea Bay News coverage of the Pontyates Surgery campaign

Campaigners lodge formal complaint over Pontyates GP surgery closure plans
How residents escalated their concerns after losing confidence in the health board’s process.

Hundreds protest to save Pontyates GP surgery as council demands action
The human chain, the packed public meetings and the growing political pressure.

Health board to hold extra public meeting on Pontyates GP surgery closure plans
How the health board responded to the campaign — and why campaigners remained unconvinced.

Council demands action on Pontyates surgery closure as councillors warn of ‘predetermined outcome’
The full story of the council motion and the accusations against the health board.

BLOOD TEST SHUFFLE: Llanelli patients moved AGAIN as services shift to new £60m Pentre Awel site

The move by Hywel Dda University Health Board marks the latest change for locals, who previously saw blood tests controversially shifted to an “out-of-town industrial park” in Dafen from the Antioch Centre in 2024.

That move drew heavy fire from patients at the time, as the Dafen Mass Vaccination Centre is not served by any public bus routes. The Health Board was even forced to offer limited appointments at Prince Philip Hospital specifically for those who relied on public transport and couldn’t reach the industrial estate.

Now, the service is set to find a permanent home at the £60 million Canolfan Pentre Awel, a modern sports and leisure facility that officially opened its doors in October 2025.

The new location is expected to be a relief for many, as it is marginally better served by public transport and sits much closer to the Antioch Centre where tests were originally held before the Dafen “exile.”

The Health Board claims the shift to Pentre Awel will finally offer the improved accessibility, better transport links, and more convenient parking that patients have been demanding.

Canolfan Pentre Awel already boasts a state-of-the-art hydrotherapy pool, which opened in February 2026, providing therapeutic support for people with various conditions.

The phlebotomy team will initially be based in Block B, sharing space with Research and Innovation services and a range of bookable clinical rooms.

While the Health Board states the move aims to enhance the “patient experience,” for many in Llanelli, it simply means yet another change to navigate for a routine but essential service.

For now, patients are being told to continue booking their blood test appointments at the current Dafen site or Prince Philip Hospital. Appointments can be made online via the existing booking system or by calling the Communications Hub on 0300 303 9642.

The Health Board has confirmed it will release further details regarding the exact opening date at Canolfan Pentre Awel and any changes to appointment arrangements as soon as they are available.

Related stories from Swansea Bay News

Health Board moves Llanelli blood tests to out-of-town industrial park Initial 2024 relocation that sparked anger over a lack of bus services and its remote location.

Canolfan Pentre Awel opens its doors in Llanelli after years of anticipation A first look at the £60 million facility that is now set to become the permanent home for blood tests.

Hundreds protest to save Pontyates GP surgery as council demands action

Over 100 supporters formed a human chain around the surgery on Tuesday, 24th February, in a ‘Cwtsho’r Sarn’ solidarity event designed to show the strength of feeling in the community against the closure plans. The protest came as Hywel Dda University Health Board held a drop-in engagement session in the nearby Memorial Hall, which saw hundreds of worried residents attend to voice their concerns.

Hywel Dda is currently holding an eight-week consultation on the future of the surgery, with its preferred option being to disperse the practice’s 3,000 patients to other surgeries in the area.

Organisers of the human chain, which had been planned as a highly visual show of solidarity, said they were delighted with the strong turnout. They were joined by local councillors and received backing from Senedd members including Adam Price and Cefin Campbell.

Llanelli MS Lee Waters, who has previously raised the alarm over the surgery’s future, pledged to continue advocating on behalf of patients. He said: “Local GP services matter. They’re about access, continuity of care, and supporting the health of the whole community.”

At the engagement event, residents raised concerns about the capacity of the neighbouring Coalbrook surgery in Pontyberem to absorb the extra patients, citing access issues, limited parking, and long waiting times.

Long-term patient Ffani Cattran, 77, felt that concerns about transport for those without cars were not adequately addressed. “They haven’t taken on board the transport issues and are assuming that people will be able to get lifts, which is neither fair nor reasonable,” she said. “This is a deprived area with historic health inequalities from its industrial past.”

The protests follow a decision by Carmarthenshire County Council on 25th February to demand action from the Health Board. The council passed a motion to write to the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care, asking for alternatives to closure to be properly considered. The council will also write to Hywel Dda’s Chair and Chief Executive to request that a Health Impact Assessment and an Equality Impact Assessment are published and considered before any final decision is made.

The campaign’s petition to save the surgery, which has gathered approximately 3,000 signatures, is set to be considered by the Senedd’s Petitions Committee on 2nd March.

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Had two small ops today for skin cancer. Thanks #NHS #HywelDda

Had two small ops today for skin cancer. Thanks #NHS #HywelDda