Powys is 'forgotten county’ and patients are getting 'bargain basement' healthcare: Councillors make urgent calls for improvements
Councillors said ‘Powys is the forgotten county’ for healthcare as they urgently called for town and community councils to get together to lobby for better services.
Councillor Jamie Jones said he is getting very concerned as he has been told of many ‘horror stories’ as he talks to people in the area.
“The NHS is in such an awful place with ambulances not being available, the distances people have to travel to get access to health services, the delays in treatment for Powys patients – it is really creating a two tier system across Mid Wales.
“We seem to be struggling and falling further and further behind. Some of the stories I have heard, people have said they wish they did not live here anymore.
“There are going to be some really serious long term health issues – our health system seems to be that you can wait and wait and wait for two or three years but that causes bigger problems and costs more further down the road.”
Llandrindod Wells Mayor Councillor Steve Deeks-D’Silva said one resident had written in about her mother who recently spent five nights in Hereford Hospital with acute back and knee pain.
The first night was spent on a trolley bed, the following night was in a corridor and the other three nights were in front of a window with no privacy or storage, in public or communal spaces by shared toilets.
The resident said the acute pain nurse said her mother would qualify for her services but she would have to be referred by her GP and wait 104 weeks because she comes from Powys.
The woman said she felt her mother was given a poorer bed because she came from Powys and she got ‘the bargain basement version of what other patients were getting’.
Councillor Deeks-D’Silva said: “This is what we have to expect now as residents, it’s shocking and the only thing I can say is ‘don’t get ill’.”
Councillor Chris Owen (Blue) said the council needs to reach out to other councils and lobby for upgraded health services in Llandrindod Wells, the county town and base of Powys County Council.
“This is a conversation that is so important, this is a priority," he said.
Councillor Paul Smith said Powys does not have the density of population to justify a district general hospital but neither did Hereford Hospital and it was only created because it was so far to other major health centres.
He said Powys needs to make that same point strongly.
“We are the forgotten county within Wales and we do need to lobby or people will gravitate away from these areas. People cannot live in an area where they can’t access services they need. We should talk to neighbouring councils about this," he said.
“This is a very significant issue, every one of our residents will be impact the Welsh Government’s policy,” he said.
Councillor Smith called for sight of the equalities impact assessment undertaken before the hospital waiting times for Powys patients was extended in July.
Members unanimously agreed to invite other town and community councils in the area to have a discussion with them about the issue so they can lobby the Welsh Government for improved services.
A spokesperson for the Wye Valley NHS Trust said; “We are sorry that the hospital stay for this patient fell below expectations. To be able to look into the concerns raised, we ask that the patient contacts our patient experience team on 01432 372928.
“The trust continues to experience exceptionally high demand on urgent and emergency care at levels not seen in previous years. Our staff are working extremely hard to provide the best possible care for all patients accessing our services from Herefordshire and border areas.
“We have a number of measures in place to help reduce Emergency Department (ED) waiting times and improve patient flow in our hospitals, including more acute and surgical patients benefiting from our five speciality Same Day Emergency Care units and greater use of Virtual Wards.
“We continue to work with our partner organisations to reduce delayed hospital discharges. This includes working with Powys Health Teaching Board and Powys Local Authority to increase their community pathways ahead of winter to help reduce Hereford County Hospital ED attendances, increase the local options for patients being cared for closer to home, and reduce delayed discharges from Wye Valley NHS Trust’s hospitals.”
