Over 2,000 people this week made their final plea to the Hywel Dda Health Board to keep the Tycroes surgery open.

A petition containing around 2,000 signatures as well as reasons for retaining the threatened surgery was handed over to the Board on Tuesday afternoon.

Now patients are left waiting for the Board's final decision to be announced.

“The number of people who have joined us in this campaign just shows the strength of feeling that’s out there,” said Cllr Tina Higgins.

“It’s been a real team effort both from the people who’ve gone around gathering signatures and the various businesses that have allowed us to leave our petition forms with them.”

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The application to close Tycroes Surgery was submitted by its sister practice, namely the Margaret Street Surgery in Ammanford.

But its closure, according to patients, will cause travelling issues for a large number of people from Tycroes and the surrounding area.

“Reading people’s reasons for keeping the surgery open is confirmation of just how important the surgery is,” continued Tina.

“There’s a great deal of anxiety out there, not just with the elderly but also with people suffering mental illness who feel very concerned about using public transport.

"And Covid hasn’t gone away, which means there are still a lot of people who don’t like being in enclosed spaces with other people.

“We know there’s a pay and display car park not very far from the Margaret Street Surgery, but people using this have to cross a very busy main road.

"So again for the elderly, the infirm and young mothers with pushchairs and young children, this is potentially a very dangerous situation.

“The closure of Tycroes Surgery is really not an option. It remains a vital service that we need to serve the village of Tycroes and the very wide surrounding area.”

The surgery has remained closed since February 2020 as a result of the pandemic when it served as a ‘red site’ for the Amman Gwendraeth GP cluster.  Prior to the pandemic it was used for a wide range of medical services.

Hywel Dda’s decision concerning the future of the surgery is expected to be announced later this summer.