Rural health board shake-up opposed as locals fight cuts to hospital beds

Proposals to cut community hospital beds in some of Wales' most rural areas have met with strong resistance.

The plans would see inpatient beds reduced from 146 to either 90 or 60 in Powys, with services concentrated in just two or three of the county's eight community hospitals.

It means inpatient wards could disappear from Welshpool, Machynlleth, Ystradgynlais and Llanidloes, while Llandrindod Wells could also lose its beds under the most extensive option.

Powys Teaching Health Board said the changes were needed to make services safe and sustainable, arguing that its current model was increasingly difficult to staff and deliver across such a large geographical area.

A 14-week public consultation on the future of health services in Powys was now under way, but the plans had already been opposed by GPs, politicians and communities concerned about the impact on an ageing rural population.

In August more than 400 people attended a public meeting in Llanidloes to oppose the closure of community hospital beds in the town.

A drop-in meeting was held in Llanidloes on Tuesday, following a number of public meetings in other parts of Powys to discuss the health board's plans.

Jill O'Connor, from the Llanidloes Hospital Alliance Group said plans to instead deliver more care in the community were not workable, arguing that it would be difficult to provide care for people who live at least 20 or 30 miles out of town in remote rural areas, particularly in the middle of winter.

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