A councillor is “disgusted” his county was left with only one minor injuries unit as lockdown eased and tourists flooded the area.

Welsh National Party councillor Peter Read, who represents Abererch on Gwynedd council, said the temporary closure of other units meant people had to make difficult journeys to reach the only remaining one at Ysbyty Alltwen in Tremadog.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board mothballed minor injuries units (MIU) in Dolgellau, Tywyn and Ysbyty Bryn Beryl in Pwllheli, saying the closures had been made to “maximise staffing resources”.

However a spokeswoman revealed that Ysbyty Bryn Beryl MIU will reopen on Saturday, August 29.

She also pointed out the MIU at Penrhos Stanley Hospital in Holyhead had remained open during the pandemic.

Cllr Read said he only learned about the reopening of Bryn Beryl from the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), despite asking the health board for information.

He said: “What annoyed me is that Bryn Beryl is in my patch and I have been sending emails asking when it would reopen.

“Myself and Cllr Dylan Bullard (Pwllheli) are disgusted that they have opened the floodgates to tourists to come into Gwynedd but there’s been nowhere but Ysbyty Alltwen to go to for minor injuries.

“If you were in Barmouth or Tywyn, you would have to travel to Aberystwyth.

“It could also mean more people turning up at Ysbyty Gwynedd in Bangor and putting pressure on staff and services there.”

Cllr Read said he welcomed the reopening of Ysbyty Bryn Beryl and called for the other Gwynedd MIUs to be restarted.

Ffion Johnstone, West area director for Betsi Cadwaladr, said: “In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, plans were put in place to increase the number of inpatient beds across our six community hospitals in Gwynedd and Anglesey.

“In addition, we consolidated our Minor Injury services to maximise staffing resources, retaining Ysbyty Alltwen and Penrhos Stanley Hospital to ensure  the public had access to unscheduled care services, without the need to attend Ysbyty Gwynedd unless clinically urgent.

“We are now in the process of reviewing all our essential services to assess where these can be safely and effectively restarted.

“The reopening of Bryn Beryl MIU has been reviewed in terms of attendances at the other MIUs and Ysbyty Gwynedd Emergency Department.

“Bryn Beryl Minor Injury Unit will reopen on Saturday, August 29, and will operate between 10am-10pm.”