The fight to secure Meddygfa’r Sarn’s long-term future enters its decisive phase next week — with the contract to run the Pontyates surgery formally going out to tender.
Experienced GP partnerships, primary care providers and healthcare organisations are being encouraged to bid for the new General Medical Services (GMS) contract to operate the practice.
The tender will be published in the week commencing 6 July and closes in the week commencing 14 August — with the contract notice already viewable on the UK Government’s Find a Tender service.
It follows the community’s successful campaign to stop Hywel Dda University Health Board closing the surgery. That fight ended in May with the board committing to a long-term primary care presence in the village.
Members of the Save Meddygfa’r Sarn Community Working Group met the health board’s procurement team on Monday 29 June — and are now working to make sure no potential bidder misses the opportunity.
“Our community has fought hard to save its surgery,” the group said in a statement. “Now we need the strongest possible field of bidders to come forward. The more interest there is in this opportunity, the greater the chance of securing a suitable provider.”
The group said it was concerned that awareness of the opportunity may be limited — and wanted to ensure that no suitable provider misses the chance to bid.
“We know there are excellent GP partnerships and providers across Wales and beyond,” the statement continued. “If that could be you, or someone you know, we encourage you to explore and share this exciting opportunity to develop and lead a well-supported rural practice.
“Please spread the word. Together, we can help secure the long-term future of Meddygfa’r Sarn for our patients, our community and generations to come.”
The surgery, which serves around 4,350 patients, has been run directly by the health board as a managed practice since 2017, when its GP partners resigned.
Its proposed closure sparked a four-month fight over the future of healthcare in the village. Hundreds of residents formed a human chain around the building in February’s Cwtsho’r Sarn protest, a petition topped 1,000 signatures, and candidates from across the political spectrum joined the campaign.
The health board changed course in the spring, first agreeing to explore independent GPs for the practice — with campaigners saying closure “should never have been on the table” — before confirming weeks later that the surgery would stay open.
Anyone considering a bid must register on all three procurement portals before receiving the full tender documentation, which contains everything required to prepare a bid. As well as Find a Tender, registration is required on Sell2Wales, the Welsh Government’s procurement site. The third portal is eTenderWales.
More detailed information from the procurement meeting has been shared on the Save Sarn Surgery Community Working Group’s Facebook page, and the group is welcoming contact from interested parties who want clarification about the bidding process — or about the community the practice serves.
For a village that wrapped its arms around its surgery in the February cold, the next six weeks will help decide whether that fight delivered — not just a reprieve, but a future.
Thank you once again for supporting our community in this fight, we really do appreciate everything you have done to keep this in the news and to publish our press releases. Our hope is that we will help to secure a new service provider and that our actions can help other communities who may find themselves in a similar position in the future. SavE Our Surgery Compaign.