The threat to close minor injury units in Pembroke Dock and Tenby will put more pressure on already overstretched services at Withybush Hospital, Milford Haven town councillors have warned.

At Monday’s public works and planning committee, Milford Haven town councillors said they were concerned with Hywel Dda Health Board's summary report of its consultation findings.

Cllr John Cole said: “We have won some of the battles by keeping some services in Withybush. But as far as Pembrokeshire is concerned, we still have the issue of the minor injury units in Pembroke Dock and Tenby.

“If they are closed, it will put extra pressure on the A&E department at Withybush Hospital, which will have an impact on everyone else in Pembrokeshire, including the people of Milford Haven.”

Cllr Mathew Rickard said that waiting times at Withybush A&E had already become excessive.

Cllr Carol Stevens added: “There’s not always someone there to do X-Rays and there’s not always a doctor at Withybush A&E. These little issues are important and there’s no knowing what it’s going to be like in the future.

“What if a patient needs to go to Glangwili? These are the issues they need to think about – how a patient is going to get from A to B in the golden hour. These issues are just as important as keeping units open.”

Cllr Cole said that the fact that the ambulance service was a totally separate organisation, and not in the hospital’s remit, was another problem.

He added that the report put a greater emphasis on the household survey rather than the open survey.

He said: “The household survey brought back 697 responses, and the open survey had 4,422. Yet the emphasis is placed on the survey with the lower figure, which suits them.

“We need to express our concerns to Hywel Dda about their decisions on the minor injury units and the impact that will have on A&E in Withybush.”