Hywel Dda health board hopes to find another provider to keep New Quay surgery open.

Last month, Hywel Dda University Health Board issued a statement about New Quay Surgery after its GP partners resigned the practice’s General Medical Services contract.

No decision has been made on its future, and patients will continue receiving GP services as normal until at least March 31, 2027, while Hywel Dda decides the surgery’s long-term future.

Residents launched a campaign to save the surgery after its future was put in doubt.

A Change.org petition created by Rhydian Jones has attracted 928 signatures, while a public meeting will take place at the town’s memorial hall on 13 October.

Since then, Dr Eurig Harries one of the partners at New Quay Surgery has said it was “an extremely difficult decision” to finish.

“Dr Morgan had already indicated his intention to retire in spring 2027. Remaining as the sole GP partner — the ‘last man standing’ — would have left me with overall responsibility for both the clinical and business sides of the practice, while trying to recruit doctors in an exceptionally difficult recruitment environment.”

He stressed: “There is one distinction I particularly want to make clear: I have decided to leave New Quay Surgery. I have not decided that New Quay should no longer have a GP surgery.”

Hywel Dda University Health Board said it will consult patients and the wider community this autumn about how services should be provided in future.

Members of a recent Vacant Practice Panel considered a range of options for the future provision of services; the preferred option to undertake an urgent contract award through a procurement process, which will establish whether another provider could be awarded the contract to provide a GP Practice at New Quay Surgery.

The panel also considered the Health Board taking over the practice, but did not recommend that option at this stage.

The health board wants to hear from patients, local communities and other stakeholders.

An eight-week public consultation will run from 12 October to 6 December.

Andrew Carruthers, chief operating officer at Hywel Dda University Health Board, said: “The Vacant Practice Panel has carefully considered the options available, taking into account a range of factors including patient safety, sustainability, financial viability, the geography of the area and the potential impact on patients.

“Its preferred option is to test whether another provider can be secured through an urgent contract award procurement process.

“However, no final decision has been made.

“We want local people to have a meaningful opportunity to understand the options considered and tell us what they think before the next stage of the process.

“In the meantime, New Quay Surgery remains open as normal, and we ask patients to remain registered with the practice.”

A paper is expected to go to the health board early next year, outlining the engagement and procurement results and any alternatives.

Campaigners say losing the surgery could mean longer journeys for patients, the loss of 20 jobs and a threat to the town’s nearby pharmacy.