Powys politicians respond to Powys Health Board dropping treatment delay plans
Powys politicians have been quick to respond to news that Powys Local Health Board is to drop controversial plans to delay treatment for Welsh patients at English hospitals.
Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said Welsh Labour needs to understand the challenge of providing heathcare in rural areas.
Cash-strapped Powys Teaching Health Board has been considering a number of measures to cut costs - including asking health providers in England to slow down the delivery of planned care treatments, including outpatient appointments and inpatient procedures for Powys patients.
Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said: “I am glad that the Health Board seems to have listened to the public outcry over these proposals. They were always completely inappropriate.
“However, the situation that forced the Health Board into this corner remains, with the Welsh Labour Government insisting the Health Board makes £23 million in budget cuts.
“Welsh Labour needs to understand the challenges of providing health care in a rural county like ours which doesn’t have its own hospital.
“I won’t stop fighting to protect our local health care services.”
Brecon and Radnorshire Senedd Member James Evans called on the Welsh Labour Government to cover Powys Teaching Health Board’s funding shortfall of £9.9 million to prevent deliberate extensions to waiting times for patients in Mid Wales on top of the record waiting lists the Welsh NHS is experiencing.
Both Welsh Conservative Members of the Senedd for Powys, James Evans and Russell George have been engaging with the Health Board to achieve a change in proposal.
The Health Board is scheduled to meet this Wednesday (29th January) and is now set to drop the plan, according to papers published today. Health Board Members will now be asked to approve no changes to elective activity in quarter 4 of 2024/25.
James Evans MS, Welsh Conservative Shadow Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and Senedd Member for Brecon and Radnorshire said: “This is a victory for common sense and shows what Welsh Conservatives can achieve even in opposition.
“The proposal should never have been considered in the first place, but is a symptom of Labour’s failure to adequately fund health in rural Welsh communities, like Powys.
“Welsh Conservatives like myself and my colleague Russell George have applied this pressure and delivered a change in policy. This makes me more optimistic about the positive change we can deliver to fix Wales in government.”
