Cross Hands health centre plan defended (From South Wales Guardian)

Cross Hands health centre plan defended

1:00pm Friday 8th March 2013 in Ammanford news

A planned new health centre earmarked for Cross Hands will be “a centre of excellence”

boasting a wide range of medical services, says Hywel Dda Health Board’s Carmarthenshire chief Linda Williams.

The Health Board chief faced some tough questioning when she appeared before Llandybie community councillors to provide an update on the planned community resource centre off the Cross Hands Roundabout.

She maintained that such a facility marked the way forward and expressed the hope that “negative” aspects surrounding the development would ultimately be outweighed by positive benefits.

Asked why Cross Hands was chosen as the location, Ms Williams replied that the site offered a greater opportunity for growth as well as having the potential to serve a wider population far more effectively.

“I’m really excited by the future because the health board will be bringing primary services into the community,” she said.

“This centre needs to have xrays and needs to have ultrasound.

The health board has undergone so much re-structuring that we’ve never been able to realise our ambitions in the past.

“I would also hope that it would be open seven days a week.

“For too long health services have only been available from Mondays to Fridays.

“We are privileged to have a post-graduate medical school in Swansea which has an excellent reputation.

“If we provide the facilities we will ensure that many of those newly-qualified young doctors will remain in this area.”