Attack over dialysis unit

The failure of the Welsh Assembly Government to fund a renal dialysis unit in Welshpool has been strongly criticised by a former AM following a meeting with a hospital trust boss.

Glyn Davies, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Montgomeryshire and former Assembly Member for Mid and West Wales, spoke out after the meeting at Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.

Mr Davies said today he had met with Tom Taylor, Chief Executive of the Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Hospitals Trust, this week when several issues of importance to Mid Wales were on the agenda.

A champion of the establishment of a renal dialysis unit in north Powys for many years, Mr Davies received a petition of several thousand names supporting the campaign during his term as an AM.

Welshpool Hospital League of Friends has also promised substantial financial support for the project.

Mr Davies said: “I become increasingly concerned by the way in which Mid Wales is being ignored by the Assembly Government - and nowhere more so than in its attitude to renal dialysis.

“We have known for years there was insufficient renal dialysis capacity at Shrewsbury Hospital and the most patient-friendly solution was to create six station satellite units at Telford and Welshpool.

“The way that rural Mid Wales is being treated by the Assembly Government is a disgrace and some of our most vulnerable people are paying the price.”