Pledge made over Newtown Hospital

Health officials in Powys are facing a race against time to secure medical cover for one its largest hospitals. Newtown Hospital is facing a shortage of staff over the next six weeks.

It results from a combination of holidays and problems with cover.

Powys Local Health Board (LHB) said today that although it had been facing problems, the hospital would not be closing.

Health board officials also stressed that services at the hospital would not be affected as a result.

Pat Tempest, spokeswoman for Powys LHB, today said: "Medical cover for Newtown has now been secured for the next two weeks and discussions are continuing about arrangements for the subsequent weeks.

"We are doing our best to secure cover at the hospital and have no intention of closing it," she added.

Montgomeryshire MP Glyn Davies said he would be speaking to health officials about the situation at the hospital later today.

He said: "It is very important that we retain medical cover at Newtown Hospital because it would be extremely worrying if the largest town in Powys was left without a hospital.

"I will be talking with Powys LHB later today to find out what is being done," said the MP.

Fears that the hospital could actually close were raised by an employee, who did not want to be named.

He said he feared plans were in place to close the hospital for six weeks from today and move patients and staff to other Powys hospitals or nursing homes.

But the claims have been denied by the health board.