A branch surgery set up to provide nurse-led clinics to Pembrokeshire residents whose GP surgery has closed down is said to be ‘proving popular’.

St Davids GP surgery closed down at the end of October, after its solo GP resigned the General Medical Services contract.

The decision by Hywel Da Health Board to close the surgery sparked massive local opposition.

St Davids residents packed into meetings to have their say and erected Save our Surgery banners throughout the city.

Following the announcement more than 150 St Davids residents packed into City Hall for a meeting on the surgery’s future.

However, the health board said the decision to close the surgery would not be revisited and the surgery’s 3,000 patients were reassigned to Solva, now called the Peninsula Practice, Fishguard and Haverfordwest.

A branch surgery has now been set up in St Davids Shalom House Hospice and has been running since the beginning of the month.

This surgery runs every morning in two rooms of the palliative care respite hospice.

“I can confirm that the branch surgery at Shalom House in St Davids opened as planned on November 1,” said Jill Paterson, Hywel Dda University Health Board’s director of primary care, community and long term care.

“It is operating nurse-led clinics every weekday morning for patients who have difficulty travelling to Solva or those who prefer their appointment to be in St Davids.”

She added that other services had expressed an interest in delivering services during the afternoons at Shalom House, including clinical nurse specialist clinics.

Nurse-led services are currently running from 8.30am until 12.30pm on weekdays for blood tests, blood pressure checks, height and weight checks, B12 injections, wound care and nurse reviews for asthma, diabetes, hypertension and COPD.

“I am pleased to say that the branch surgery service is proving popular and is booking well,” said Ms Paterson.