Innovative measures to ensure the sustainability of primary healthcare services in the short and medium term have been called for by a North Powys Assembly Member.
Questioning the First Minister last week, week (Tuesday 4th June), the AM for Montgomeryshire, Russell George, welcomed the £2.5 million of funding which has been earmarked for the North Powys Wellbeing Programme but also called for short and medium term measures to ensure that frontline health services are supported.
The Newtown area is to receive £2.5 million of funding from the Welsh Government’s £100 million Transformation Fund to back new ways of delivering health and social care services. The Fund has been created to support the scale up of new models of seamless health and social care as part of the Welsh Government’s long term plan for health and social care, A Healthier Wales.
This funding will see the development of a state of the art new facility in the Newtown area to offer more services locally and bring the latest technology and training to Mid Wales.
Speaking outside the National Assembly chamber after having questioned the First Minister, Mr George said:
"It is undoubtedly good news that a new healthcare facility is to be based in the Newtown area, and almost certainly in Newtown itself, but further capital funding will have to come forward if the project and new facility is to become a reality.
"It will therefore be some years before the new facility is operational by the time it is planned and built so in the meantime we have to ensure that current GP and hospital services are supported and strengthened.
"I was pleased that the First Minister was able to give me an assurance that the Welsh Government is committed to building this new facility. I think he appreciated my point that we need to support existing health services in Newtown in the meantime."
