Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has confirmed it is reviewing the future of its urgent primary care centres in north-west Wales, after the BBC reported on Saturday that the board is considering ending the service at three hospitals because of financial pressures and recruitment difficulties.
The centres, at Ysbyty Penrhos Stanley in Holyhead, Ysbyty Alltwen in Tremadog and Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor, were opened in 2022 with Welsh Government funding to treat patients with acute problems on the day their GP surgery refers them. A Holyhead councillor and a Member of the Senedd have warned that closing them would push more patients towards GP surgeries and emergency departments.
Carol Shillabeer, the board's chief executive, said it was reviewing the "current provision of UPCC services" and engaging with staff. "The outcome of the review and the potential future approach will be developed in the coming months," she said. She added that "access to urgent and emergency care is a priority for the health board".
The board has not published a public consultation document, but a board letter shared by Janet Finch-Saunders says approval has been given to begin a formal staff consultation to cease the West UPCC service from 31 March 2027. Its public statements describe a review, but the BBC reports the board has confirmed it is consulting on a proposal to end the service at all three sites by 31 March 2027. The North Wales Chronicle reported about four days earlier that the Holyhead centre was under threat, citing funding constraints and recruitment difficulties.
Jeff Evans, a Holyhead county councillor, told the BBC that closing the facility would result in "dire consequences for the community and patients".
Janet Finch-Saunders, the MS for Bangor Conwy Môn, told the North Wales Chronicle the potential closure was "deeply concerning" and described it as the board's decision.
"These centres help to relieve pressure on our Accident and Emergency departments when people are unable to get an appointment with their GP but require immediate care," she said.
"It is vital that BCUHB supports these centres to remain open. Without them, existing waiting times could increase, potentially leading to delays in treatment," she said. "I urge the health board to urgently reconsider its decision to cease these vital services."
She said: "The closure of this community care provision would have a devastating impact on Ynys Môn."
The urgent primary care centres do not operate as drop-in clinics. According to the board's website, patients are referred by their GP or by an emergency department after triage, and the centres are staffed by advanced nurse practitioners, GPs and physiotherapists. When the service launched, Dr Nia Hughes, a GP and the Arfon cluster lead, said the centres would "support GP surgeries by providing additional capacity to help assess and treat patients with acute medical problems, on the day."
The centres are separate from the minor injury units at Penrhos Stanley and Alltwen. The board lists the Penrhos Stanley unit as open from 8am to 7pm, seven days a week, and neither the board nor the objectors has suggested those units are part of the review.
The board has not publicly released figures on how many patients the three centres treat, what they cost or how many posts are vacant, so the scale of any saving from closure, or of the extra demand that GPs and emergency departments would absorb, has not been set out.
Holyhead has already seen one service withdrawn from Penrhos Stanley. St David's Hospice announced in July 2025 that it would temporarily close its four-bed inpatient unit at the hospital from October 2025, citing rising running costs and lower income. The board said at the time that the unit supported an average of seven patients a month.
The Welsh Government, which funded the original scheme, had not commented publicly on the review at the time of writing. The board has said the outcome will be developed in the coming months.
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