‘Hospital desert’ Powys risks being overwhelmed

Shocking news tonight for Powys residents after Sky News reported that we are one of just five areas of the UK that could be impacted most by COVID-19.

Thanks to a generation of downgrading the county’s health services and forcing residents to seek treatment across the border and elsewhere, researchers at Oxford University have identified that the county is a ‘hospital desert’.

The report said that the Leverhulme Centre on Demographic Science shows Powys as one of just five locations where the local hospitals could easily become overwhelmed.

The list has been compiled as a result of looking at both the capacity of the hospitals and the age of the population. Other ‘hospital deserts’ include Northumberland, Rutland, Isle of White and Suffolk.

It also reiterates the message for ‘tourists’ who are self-isolating here to go home because it will further stretch our fragile health services locally.

According to today’s figures, there are just 10 confirmed Coronavirus cases in Powys. However, the true figure is far higher with those who are self-isolating with symptoms not included.

Meanwhile, many people in the area will be contacted in the coming days to be told that they are on the most vulnerable list of 1.5 million people that the Government are telling to stay home for the next three months under a ‘shielding’ plan.