Government to debate Powys waiting lists shocker on Monday

The Powys people have forced a Welsh Government debate to be held on Monday regarding the “disgraceful situation” of patients in the county being forced to wait longer for treatment across the border those in England.

Monday’s Senedd Petitions Committee will discuss a petition delivered by Newtown county councillor and anti-poverty champion, Joy Jones, which gathered over 2,000 signatures in a matter of days.

The petition calls for “immediate action to prevent Powys patients treated in English hospitals from facing increased waiting times”.

This decision was agreed in a Powys Teaching Health Board meeting in March with the health board facing severe financial pressure.

They want to save money by bringing Montgomeryshire patients in-line with the dire Welsh waiting times for treatment, despite receiving treatment across the border in England where waiting times are better.

“This treats Powys patients as second-class citizens,” said Cllr Jones. “Welsh targets apply to Welsh hospitals, shouldn't apply to those treated in England.

On 25 January 2025, the First Minister was reported as saying ‘I don't want to see people in Powys suffer and I certainly don’t want them to go to the back of the queue if they are going to be treated across the border in England’.
“I urge the Welsh Government to plug the (financial) deficit and fund Powys Teaching Health Board fairly for Powys.”

Cllr Jones told us she is “heartbroken” after hearing “so many stories of people being told already that they are from Powys so they have to wait of their operation as they're now at the back of the queue”.

“It is putting money before patients, and Powys deserves better,” she said.

Cllr Jones has highliughted out plight by sharing the image (right) that shows where the main hospitals are located in Wales, showing a huge black hole for Powys.

“Powys remains the only health board in Wales without a general hospital of its own. This means we must purchase essential healthcare services from neighbouring health boards across the border,” she said.

“But here lies a deep-rooted problem: we do not control the costs. The price is dictated by other health boards, forcing us into an unfair and unsustainable system where Powys patients pay the price - quite literally - for being left out of the infrastructure the rest of Wales relies on.

“The First Minister and Health Minister must urgently recognise that the people of Powys matter. We are not second-class citizens. We are not simply lines on a spreadsheet. And yet, every time a service is cut, every time care is delayed, we are made to feel invisible.”

Monday’s Cardiff meeting will start at 2pm, with our issue listed as 2.4 on the agenda.