Call made for new bypass, hospital and 24-hour ambulance station

Helen Mary Jones, Mid & West Wales AM, said there is an urgent need for a Pant and Llanymynech bypass, linking Shropshire to Mid Wales.

She said it is one of many things that would give the people of Mid Wales better access to health care.

In a reply to the Future Fit consultation, which has now ended, the Plaid Cymru politician said she would support option one, for emergency care at Shrewsbury, but believes the Government and health boards in Wales need to do more to help Mid Wales patients.

She has called for the Welsh Government to put forward funding for to make the bypass across the Shropshire/Powys border a reality.

She said: “We need a range of actions to be undertaken for the benefit of residents in north Powys.

"What discussions has the trust had with the Welsh Government and health boards in Wales to support community transport links from the Newtown area to Shrewsbury to ease accessibility?

“Plaid Cymru wants to see a 24-hour ambulance station based in Llanidloes and the development of the new integrated hospital at Newtown as soon as possible.

“We are calling for access to Wrexham Maelor Hospital as and when needed. This is particularly important for residents in north Montgomeryshire.

"We are also calling for enhanced transport links with Wrexham including: for the Welsh Government to fund a bypass for Pant and Llanymynech; a transport study to reopen the railway line from Welshpool to Gobowen as part of the Mid Wales Growth deal.”

The politician added that if Telford gets chosen as the destination for an emergency centre, more investment would need to be made in both Wrexham and Welshpool.

She added: “If Telford gets chosen, extra investment should be go to Wrexham, and Welshpool MIU to both mitigate the impact and also to aim to attract more services to those hospitals – using the potential new patient population in Shrewsbury that could use those services to justify the critical mass.”