MP: I back Welshpool fight to save hospital beds
“Proposed cuts to inpatient services are causing serious concern across Powys. As the Member of Parliament for the Welshpool area, I believe I owe it to you to do everything in my power to oppose them.
If the recent meeting at the COWSHACC is anything to go by, the strength of feeling in Welshpool on this issue is very strong indeed.
Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) is considering withdrawing inpatient care here in Welshpool, as well as Machynlleth, Llanidloes, Llandrindod Wells and Ystradgynlais hospitals (the latter two being outside of the constituency). The total number of beds will be reduced from 160 to 60. If these plans are implemented, many people will no doubt be left behind.
Separately, the closure of the surgery at Llanrhaeadr-ym-Mochnant is under consultation, due to PTHB ending supplementary funding to Llanfyllin Group Practice, which operates the branch.
When we look back at our local history, the injustice of these cuts is plain to see. In Llanidloes, the inpatient ward was established because of the fundraising efforts of the community, yet now the health board seeks to close it against their wishes. I must emphasise: if we lose these services, they are gone, and they are not coming back.
For too long we have witnessed the hollowing out of rural healthcare, with patients in Powys travelling across the border with England due to the lack of a District General Hospital, something which sets us apart from all other health boards in Wales.
Under these plans, existing shortcomings for patients, and pressure on staff, will be further exacerbated. We do not have the necessary transport links to adequately sustain this centralisation of inpatient care.
I do not deny that the Welsh NHS faces significant challenges going forwards. Our ageing population has major implications for the sustainability of services. Investment in new technologies and preventative health is a precondition to addressing this. Nonetheless, I believe that the health board is cloaking changes that would be a major step backwards for Powys healthcare in the language of progress.
These cuts are not unavoidable. Nearly half of the Welsh Government’s budget of £27 billion for 2026/27 is to be spent on the NHS. The money is there; it is a matter of prioritisation. The crux of the issue is that healthcare in Mid Wales is treated as an afterthought.
I would like to pay tribute to the local people who have turned out in massive numbers at public meetings across our county in recent weeks to make their feelings clear on these proposals, as well as those who submitted feedback as part of the consultation on the closure of Llanrhaeadr Medical Centre.
For my part, I will continue to scrutinise the policies of the new Welsh Government through the Welsh Affairs Committee, as I did when Welsh Labour were in power, to defend the interests of my constituents.
We must remember that these are only proposals, not decisions, and the health board is considering a series of options as part of its restructuring. I certainly welcome the positive developments, such as the plans to a build a new health centre in Newtown, and to expand at-home services, but I fear that the benefits of this would only be undermined by the cuts made elsewhere.
In the event that PTHB decides to proceed with the most damaging proposals at their next Board meeting on September 16, they can expect to face pushback from the whole community, and I will be standing with you, shoulder to shoulder, every step of the way.
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