Campaign launched against hospital ward changes

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have vowed to fight reported plans to remove ward beds in almost every community hospital in Powys "to the bitter end", describing the proposals as a disgraceful attack on rural healthcare and warning the proposals could lead to hospital closures in all but name.

The party has launched a county-wide petition demanding the proposals be scrapped and is urging residents to add their names and send a clear message that Powys will not stand by while its local hospitals are dismantled. The petition can be signed here: https://www.brlibdems.uk/saveourhospitals

According to reports, Powys Teaching Health Board is considering removing beds in Ystradgynlais, Builth Wells, Knighton, Bronllys, Welshpool, Llanidloes and Machynlleth. Only Brecon and Newtown hospitals are certain to remain, while Llandrindod Wells Hospital is also understood to be under threat.

Only Newtown and Brecon would be confirmed as safe.

If confirmed, the proposals would represent one of the biggest reductions in NHS services ever seen in Powys.

The Liberal Democrats have accused the Health Board of pursuing a failed model of decision-making that repeatedly asks rural communities to accept less while offering little reassurance that patients will receive better care elsewhere.

The party also said the previous Welsh Labour Government bears significant responsibility for the financial position the Health Board now finds itself in, failing to deliver a sustainable funding settlement for rural healthcare.

Jane Dodds MS, Senedd Member for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd and Leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats said: "Years of mismanagement and underfunding under the previous Welsh Labour Government have left our NHS in this impossible position, but that cannot become an excuse for devastating rural communities.

"The new Plaid Cymru Government now faces an important test. Ministers must finally accept responsibility for the decisions being made in our NHS, not continue to hide behind unelected officials.

"The Health Minister must intervene directly and stop these cuts before lasting damage is done. If this Government truly believes rural Wales matters, now is the time to prove it."

Llanidloes Powys County Councillor Glyn Preston added: "These hospitals are a lifeline for our communities spread across one of the largest and most rural counties in Britain.

"Cutting them would be an appalling decision that would force vulnerable people to travel even further, place greater pressure on families and carers, and pile more demand onto an already overstretched social care system.

"People in Powys are tired of being told to accept less than everyone else. We will stand shoulder to shoulder with every community threatened by these closures and fight to protect the local hospitals that our county depends upon.

"Plaid Cymru promised a rural premium for our public services before they came to power, now is the time to enact it."