Sam Rowlands, Member of the Welsh Parliament for Fflint Wrecsam has raised concerns for residents in Saltney Ferry who are unable to register with a GP.
Mr Rowlands, Welsh Conservative spokesperson for Families, highlighted the lack of access to doctors during a debate on hospital services and hospital closures.
He said:
When I speak to my constituents in Fflint Wrecsam about healthcare in Wales, they talk about access and waiting times. People tell me it's not working as it should.
I have a group of residents in Saltney Ferry who can't even register with a GP, they're not covered by a GP practice. It's a strange anomaly. Many of those in that community are now having to access primary care in England because that availability is not there for them here in Wales. What we then see, if people can't access their GP, is that they're ending up at the A&E departments. They've got nowhere else to go.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in special measures for a decade now. Despite the efforts and professionalism of staff on the ground, people in North Wales have faced years of pressures on services, long waiting times and real difficulty accessing care when they need it.
We are calling on the Welsh Government to provide clear, long-term stability for our local healthcare network, specifically asking for that definitive commitment that rules out any further hospital closures or the downgrading of services. On this, I speak for the constituents of Fflint Wrecsam.
People living in Ewart Street and North Street in Saltney Ferry first contacted Mr Rowlands in 2024 about the issue and he raised the matter with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board.
He said:
I understood that this had been resolved but now two years down the line my constituents are still struggling to find a doctor who will accept them as patients.
It is very sad and worrying situation for people who are experiencing difficulties registering with what should be their local doctor’s practice because they don’t fall in a GP’s catchment area.
It is simply not acceptable that people living in Wales find themselves having to access primary care across the border in England.
Sam Rowlands AS yn tynnu sylw yn y Senedd at broblemau cofrestru gyda meddyg yn Sir y Fflint
Mae Sam Rowlands, yr Aelod o’r Senedd dros Fflint Wrecsam, wedi codi pryderon am drigolion Saltney Ferry sy’n methu cofrestru gyda meddyg teulu.
Fe wnaeth Mr Rowlands, llefarydd y Ceidwadwyr Cymreig dros Deuluoedd, dynnu sylw at y diffyg mynediad at feddygon yn ystod dadl ar wasanaethau ysbytai a chau ysbytai.
Meddai:
Pan fyddaf yn siarad â fy etholwyr yn Fflint Wrecsam am ofal iechyd yng Nghymru, maent yn siarad am fynediad ac amseroedd aros. Mae pobl yn dweud wrthyf nad yw'n gweithio fel y dylai.
Mae gennyf grŵp o breswylwyr yn Saltney Ferry nad ydynt yn gallu cofrestru gyda meddyg teulu hyd yn oed, nid oes ganddynt bractis meddyg teulu ar eu cyfer. Mae'n anomaledd rhyfedd. Mae llawer o'r bobl yn y gymuned honno bellach yn gorfod cael mynediad at ofal sylfaenol yn Lloegr am nad yw ar gael iddynt yma yng Nghymru. Yr hyn a welwn wedyn, os nad yw pobl yn gallu cael mynediad at eu meddyg teulu, yw eu bod yn dod i adrannau damweiniau ac achosion brys. Nid oes ganddynt unman arall i fynd.
Mae Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr wedi bod mewn mesurau arbennig ers degawd bellach. Er gwaethaf ymdrechion a phroffesiynoldeb staff ar lawr gwlad, mae pobl yng ngogledd Cymru wedi wynebu blynyddoedd o bwysau ar wasanaethau, amseroedd aros hir ac anhawster gwirioneddol i gael mynediad at ofal pan fo'i angen arnynt.
Rydym ni yma i alw ar Lywodraeth Cymru i ddarparu sefydlogrwydd clir, hirdymor i'n rhwydwaith gofal iechyd lleol, gan ofyn yn benodol am ymrwymiad pendant i atal unrhyw ysbytai pellach rhag cau neu israddio gwasanaethau. Ar hyn, rwy'n siarad ar ran etholwyr Fflint Wrecsam.
Cysylltodd pobl sy'n byw ar Stryd Ewart a Stryd y Gogledd yn Saltney Ferry â Mr Rowlands am y tro cyntaf yn 2024 ynglŷn â'r mater a chododd y mater gyda Bwrdd Iechyd Prifysgol Betsi Cadwaladr.
Meddai:
Roeddwn i ar ddeall bod hyn wedi'i ddatrys ond nawr, ddwy flynedd yn ddiweddarach, mae fy etholwyr yn dal i gael trafferth dod o hyd i feddyg a fydd yn eu derbyn fel cleifion.
Mae'n sefyllfa drist a phryderus iawn i bobl sy'n profi anawsterau cofrestru gyda'r hyn a ddylai fod yn bractis meddyg lleol oherwydd nad ydyn nhw'n byw o fewn dalgylch meddyg teulu.
Mae’n annerbyniol fod pobl sy'n byw yng Nghymru yn gorfod cael mynediad at ofal sylfaenol dros y ffin yn Lloegr.
