Cutting inpatient beds from Mid Wales hospitals should concern everyone, Powys MP says

Reports that Powys Teaching Health Board are considering removing inpatient beds from all but two community hospitals should concern everyone across Mid Wales.

If these proposals go ahead, hospitals in Builth Wells, Bronllys, Knighton, Welshpool, Llanidloes, Llandrindod Wells, Machynlleth and Ystradgynlais could all lose the ability to admit patients.

While the Health Board insists these are not hospital closures, many local people will understandably see them as closures in all but name.

I recognise the severe financial pressures facing Powys Teaching Health Board. Years of underfunding and poor decision-making have left our local NHS facing incredibly difficult choices. However, rural communities should not be expected to bear the brunt of those decisions.

Community hospitals are not a luxury. They provide vital care closer to home, reduce unnecessary journeys for patients and families, and are particularly important in a county as large and rural as Powys. Losing these inpatient services would have a profound impact on communities across the county.

No final decision has yet been made, and that means there is still time to make our voices heard. Alongside Jane Dodds MS, I have written to both Powys Teaching Health Board and the Welsh Health Minister to seek an immediate meeting and press the case for these proposals to be abandoned.

We have also launched a petition calling on the Welsh Government and the Health Board to protect inpatient services in our community hospitals.

If, like me, you believe Powys deserves better, I would encourage you to add your name and help demonstrate the strength of feeling across our county. Together, we must send a clear message that local healthcare matters and that our community hospitals have a future worth fighting for.

You can sign the petition at: ⁠www.brlibdems.uk/saveourhospitals

Brecon Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP David Chadwick