Hywel Dda University Health Board is experiencing shortages of GPs to cover the Out of Hours service this weekend.

The shortage affects Carmarthenshire and Pembrokeshire and will mean some services being closed.

The Health Board said efforts are continuing until the last possible moment to fill the shifts affected, however there are still gaps in the rota affecting service provision between Saturday and Sunday.

The Health Board said: "At present we are unable to keep the following Out of Hours bases open:

• Withybush General Hospital - closed from 5pm-7pm on Saturday and 3pm-7pm on Sunday. 

• Prince Philip Hospital - closed from 1pm – 11pm on Saturday

• Glangwili General Hospital - closed from 6pm-7pm on Sunday."

Patients who need GP assistance should call 111 as normal who will signpost you to the right service, for example a GP, nurse, pharmacist or Minor Injury Unit; they can also provide health information on a wide range of conditions for self care if appropriate.

Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations at Hywel Dda University Health Board said: “I’d like to apologise again for any concern or inconvenience caused to residents. Unfortunately we are continuing to experience GP shortages from time to time and we appreciate the efforts our staff, GPs and partners from across the Hywel Dda area are making to ensure we can provide safe services for our patients.”

Please also note that a number of community pharmacies across the health board are now offering services which support the Out of Hours service, including the Common Ailments Scheme, Emergency Medicines Schemes and Emergency Hormonal Contraceptive scheme – for a full list click here.