Improving Health Provision in Mid Wales
Updated: January 2025
Changes to Llanidloes Hospital and other Cottage Hospitals
During 2024, Powys Teaching Health Board announced proposed temporary changes to the provision of services at local cottage hospitals. There was particular concern with a downgrading of services at Llanidloes War Memorial Hospital. I was at a very well attended public meeting in Llanidloes in August, in which residents from Llanidloes and the surrounding area were present.
Not only did the hundreds of members of the public outline their concerns about the Health Board’s plans to make changes to the provision of services at Llanidloes Hospital, but it was also clear from the meeting that current and former GPs, and other local health professionals oppose the Health Board’s plans. I have a concern that what the Health Board refer to as a temporary change to the provision, will become a permanent change. I was further concerned that a downgrading of services will make it more difficult to retain and recruit staff.
In a meeting held in October (2024), the Health Board approved proposals that will change the model of inpatient care in Llanidloes for a six-month period from December 2024.
I have raised our concerns directly in the Senedd and with Ministers several times, recently asking the First Minister to consider the true adequacy of this consultation process and to clarify if the proposed changes really are temporary. The fact that these downgrades are driven by financial constraints does not instil confidence.
When I pressed the First Minister on this issue, she suggested that service changes fall solely under the remit of local health boards, distancing the Welsh Government from the realities facing our hospitals. Yet I believe the Welsh Government has a responsibility to adequately fund Powys Teaching Health Board. During December (2024) I pressed the Welsh Government on how much additional funding Powys would receive of the new funding announced. Disappointingly, Powys seemed to have very little compared to the other 6 health boards across Wales.
I will continue to raise our concerns in the Senedd and with the Health Board.
New Mid Wales Health Facility
After many years of campaigning, a new 32 bed hospital and health facility will be built in Newtown and will work side-by-side with the current network of community hospitals in Machynlleth, Llanidloes and Welshpool and district general hospitals around our borders. This will ensure that we receive the right treatment much closer to home.
Powys Teaching Health Board and Powys County Council are leading the North Powys Wellbeing Programme project. Both organisations, working with others, are continuing to develop plans. The plans will need the approval of the Welsh Government, who have previously also committed their support to the new hospital and facility. Plans are also being developed by Powys County Council for the replacement of a new school build, Ysgol Calon y Dderwen, which is currently on the site where the new health hub in Newtown will be located.
Whilst I am pleased that all organisations have continued to commit their support to the project, I am disappointed with the pace of progress. The public consultation on the proposals which were scheduled for early 2024 have not yet begun, and I don’t believe the Welsh Government or Powys Teaching Health Board have progressed plans as quickly as they had previously committed to.
Following meetings with the Health Board during 2024, I am now waiting for further details around timescales of the project which should be available soon. I remain hopeful that the new hospital will be progressed in 2026 / 2027 and that the new facility will lead to a much needed and improved health and wellbeing services in our area; with enhanced health checks and appointments being offered locally, and more minor operations being able to be delivered in Powys rather than having to travel out of county.
New Emergency Service Provision in Shrewsbury
In October (2024) I visited the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital. Construction has been progressing for several months as part of a plan to establish it as the main emergency hospital for north Powys, Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin. This is an exciting development for us in Mid Wales, as it will mean access to enhanced life-saving emergency care in Shrewsbury.
The services planned are more significant than a standard A&E department. It also means the return of the women and children’s consultant-led inpatient service, head and neck department, critical care and the stroke unit being brought back to Shrewsbury.
The Royal Shrewsbury Hospital will specialise in Emergency Care, while the Princess Royal Hospital in Telford will become a Planned Care Centre, with both hospitals maintaining 24-hour Urgent Care Centres.
During my visit in October, I was able to view the work that has begun on the new four-story expansion to support these services. Visitors to the hospital this year may have noticed some disruption, as construction ramps up to bring these vital improvements to life.
I also attended a road show session organised by Shrewsbury Hospital at an event at Welshpool Livestock Market in December (2024). There were clinicians and the programme team present at the event to answer questions about what the programme will mean and how it will improve patient care for our Montgomeryshire community.
I believe the plans will vastly reduce current A&E waiting times at both hospitals, as well as ambulance turnaround periods. The changes and investment will help the Trust to continue confronting its wider challenges and make the necessary reforms to attract top class consultants and clinicians.
GP and Dentist Recruitment
Along with the British Medical Association Cymru Wales (BMA) I held an event in the Senedd in July (2024) in support of their campaign ‘Save our Surgeries’.
BMA Cymru launched their ‘Save our Surgeries’ campaign in 2023. They asked Welsh Government to commit to a rescue package for General Practice and to provide GPs and their patients with the support they need. Survey data, which was shared with members of the Senedd at the ‘Save Our Surgeries’ event, exposed an alarming 87% of GPs feared their rising workloads were impacting patient safety as Wales saw its 100th GP surgery close.
The continued unsustainable workload for GPs hasn’t improved and pressures are usually greater in the winter months.
There is a critical need for investment in our healthcare infrastructure and it is of vital importance that we ensure our surgeries have the resources they need to serve communities across Montgomeryshire effectively. Over recent years I have spoken to GPs locally who have outlined to me the pressures they are under, and I am fully aware that many practices do not have the full complement of doctors are needed to serve the population.
The recruitment of dentists in Montgomeryshire also continues to be difficult. I repeatedly call on the Welsh Government to work with the British Dental Association to allow dental practices to increase their number of Welsh NHS patients. I have also called for the Welsh Government to boost the number of dentists by refunding tuition fees for dentists that work in Wales for five years after their studies.
There are many residents who are unable to get an appointment to see an NHS dentist, and recently the last full-time NHS dentist in Newtown moved out of the area to work in England. I have regularly said to the previous Health Minister, and now the First Minister, that the current NHS dentistry contract is not working for dentists. A new contact must be agreed, and the Welsh Government need to make financial packages available to attract experienced dentists to come and work in rural Wales.
I will continue to raise my concerns regarding both GP and Dentist recruitment with the Welsh Government.