GP recruitment issues hit surgeries in Powys and Wrexham

Coelbren surgery could become a wellness centre when it closes as a GP surgery in May

GP recruitment problems mean a surgery in Powys will close while another in Wrexham faces an uncertain future.

Coelbren in Powys will shut in May with patients moving to nearby Dulais Valley in Seven Sisters.

GPs at Borras Park Surgery in Wrexham will end their contract in September.

Currently, two GPs look after 6,000 patients at Coelbren and Dulais Valley surgeries and Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University (ABMU) supported them for a year as it tried to recruit.

It has now decided to base both doctors at Dulais Valley permanently and plans to turn Coelbren into a wellness centre.

The two practices are about three miles (4.8km) apart and fears had been raised patients could be isolated after buses between the villages stopped.

But, after speaking to residents, the health board has decided to run a community transport service for anyone experiencing difficulties.

Meanwhile, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board said the two GPs running Borras Park will terminate their NHS contract in October after trouble recruiting.

It is working with other surgeries to work out a plan for patients.

Last September, the British Medical Association warned of a crisis facing GP surgeries with doctors quitting because of increasing pressure.