A Pembrokeshire charity is facing an annual inspection fee of up to £1,500 to continue providing a lifeline for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) sufferers, Paul Davies AM has revealed.

The Hyperbaric Oxygen Pembrokeshire Endeavour (HOPE) charity provides physio and hyperbaric oxygen therapy for up to 65 people a week at its Neyland base.

But it's feared that HOPE may have to pay up to £1,500 from now on for the independent inspections it undergoes each year.

"The charity told me about these proposed regulatory fees during an open day and I raised it with the Welsh Health Minister at the Senedd," said Preseli Pembrokeshire AM Mr Davies.

A consultation into charging for the inspections was completed last November and Mr Davies is now pressing Edwina Hart to reveal its findings.

"HOPE provides an essential therapy for those suffering from multiple sclerosis and related conditions," he added. "It is unfair to charge them for inspections when they are taking a huge financial burden away from the NHS by providing this service."

HOPE spends £100,000 a year treating patients from south west Wales with MS, MND and Parkinson's.

Many of them are referred for treatment by doctors working in the NHS but the health service provides them with just £30,000 worth of funding. The rest is raised entirely by the charity.

HOPE Manager Rick Stanton said they were not unhappy about the inspections – just about having to pay for them.

"We get inspected at the moment and we don't have an issue with that at all," he said. "It just seems very unfair to have to pay for it. We are doing work that should be done by the statutory sector which they can't afford to do, we are saving them quite a lot of money."

HOPE patient and chairman of fundraising Pat Price from Manorbier has had relapsing MS for 20 years and been attending the centre for the past six.

"I swear it has kept me on my feet, it's kept me going," she said. "I find it has reduced my rate of relapse, it helps to keep the MS at bay. I find it very hard to understand why they should charge for inspection. We work hard to raise every penny we need to keep the centre going."