Councillor’s chilling attack on local health service

A Montgomeryshire councillor has shared a shocking account of a ‘patient left abandoned’ that has highlighted the shambolic state of Mid Wales health services.

Cllr Joy Jones, who represents Newtown but also covers our area as the Powys anti-poverty campaigner, posted the account of an unnamed person’s experience that she has been made aware of, and it serves as an alarming reminder of just how vulnerable we all are living in rural Mid Wales.

The account highlights the staggering time it took for help to reach the unnamed resident that suffered a stroke, but eventually received an ambulance almost five hours after the initial 999 call.

But when they reached Telford Hospital, there was no bed available and they spent a further eight hours waiting in the back of an ambulance before being “pushed into a cabin” at A&E.

The following is the resident’s experience in the words of Cllr Jones.

“It began on a Friday morning in Powys.

A woman collapsed at home. Her family knew something was terribly wrong. Her speech was slurred. Her arm was limp. Her smile had dropped. She couldn’t form a sentence. They called 999 at 11:08am and described every symptom. The call handler ran through the stroke checks—speech, arms, smile—and confirmed what they already feared. “An ambulance will be there within the hour,” they were told.

But no one came.

No sirens. No paramedics. No help.

Time passed. Her condition worsened. Her legs began to fail. Her vision faded. At 12:32pm, they called again. The same questions. The same answers. The same promise: help was on its way.

Still, nothing.

In desperation, the family rushed to the local GP surgery. The receptionist explained the emergency. The doctor didn’t come out. “There’s nothing I can do,” he said. “Get an ambulance.”

But they had already done that. Twice. They had no transport. No support. No options.

It wasn’t until nearly 4pm - almost five hours after the first call - that an ambulance finally arrived. The paramedics were stunned. “She’s having a stroke,” they said. “This should have been a priority.” When they asked if anyone had come before them, the family said no. The paramedics shook their heads in disbelief.

She had suffered a posterior stroke - a medical emergency where every minute counts. By the time she reached A&E, the damage was done. Her speech was gone. Her legs were gone. Her sight and grip were affected. Her voice sounded intoxicated, broken by trauma.

But the nightmare didn’t end there.

There were no beds available in the stroke ward at Telford.

“Beds are like gold dust,” staff said. She spent eight hours in the back of the ambulance. No pillow. No proper support. Eventually, she was pushed into a cabin. Still waiting for an MRI. Still stuck in A&E.

Her speech has since improved slightly. But she cannot walk. She speaks slowly, as if drunk. The trauma is ongoing. The damage is permanent.

This is not an isolated incident. It is the consequence of a system in collapse.

Stroke care is being stripped from Bronglais.

Shrewsbury and Telford hospitals are overwhelmed.

The air ambulance is being removed from Welshpool.

Road ambulances are stretched beyond capacity.

GPs are powerless. Hospitals are full. Patients are dying.

And where is the Welsh Government?

Where is Jeremy Miles, the Health Secretary of Wales?

Where is Eluned Morgan, the First Minister?

They’ve been asked. They’ve been invited. They’ve been begged.

They ignore us.

They speak of transparency. They speak of accountability. But they refuse to come to Powys. They refuse to face the heartbreak they’ve allowed to unfold. They refuse to see the consequences of their decisions.

Why?

Because we’re rural?

Because we don’t vote the way they want?

Because we’re easy to overlook?

Powys is being neglected. Our lives are being destroyed. And people are dying.

This is not just a story.

This is a disgrace.

In Powys, ambulance response times for life-threatening “red” calls are among the worst in Wales. Stroke patients are still classified as “amber”—not guaranteed a rapid response. Complaints about poor stroke care have risen by 65% in four years. Powys Teaching Health Board is facing a £34.7 million deficit. Councillors call it “bargain basement healthcare.” Rural lives are being treated as worth less.

This is not just a failure of policy.

It is a failure of leadership.

It is a failure of humanity.

We are not invisible.

We are not expendable.

And we will not be silent.

This is a cry for justice.

This is a demand for truth.

This is a call to every person in Wales:

Wake up. Speak out. Before it’s your family next.”