Funds needed to stop Welsh patients having to travel across the border
Calls have been issued for funding to be made available in Powys to allow a health board to deliver more planned care in the county, saving people from having to travel to Telford.
This week health officials in Shropshire have recommended that as part of the Future Fit process, A&E services would be delivered in Shrewsbury, with planned care services moving to Telford’s Princess Royal Hospital.
A vote will be taking place on the final decision later this month, and ahead of that Montgomeryshire AM Russell George has sought assurances that more planned health care can be delivered in the region’s hospitals.
Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething last week insisted he will work with Powys Teaching Health Board, in a bid to deliver more planned care in the area’s community hospitals.
Mr George said: “It is essential that some planned care is delivered locally in our local community hospitals in Llanidloes, Newtown, Welshpool and Machynlleth, to prevent the need to travel out of county to see a consultant.
“I was pleased that the minister committed to working in partnership with Powys Teaching Health Board and other partners to achieve this, and I was pleased to hear the example of maternity care where more women are able to access complex maternity care that is midwife led within Powys, rather than having to travel further afield to do so.
“Moving forward, I will continue to campaign for NHS services to be delivered as close as possible to home and I have previously called on the Welsh Government to allocate additional funding to Powys Teaching Health Board for minor injury units and develop a Community Hospital Development Fund to encourage the innovative use of community hospitals across rural Wales.”
In the Welsh Assembly last week, Mr Gething said the government is eagerly awaiting the final confirmed decision on Future Fit, and is engaging with the Powys health board on the issue.
