Opinion: Powys patients deserve fairness

Last month, Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) revived proposals that will mean longer waiting times for Powys residents receiving treatment in English hospitals, despite there being clear capacity available across the border to treat them.

Asking hospitals in England to slow down care for Powys patients, purely because of funding pressures in Wales, is completely unjust and indefensible. These plans should never have seen the light of day, and their return is deeply concerning. I know many people across Powys will feel the same sense of frustration and disbelief.

When these proposals were first proposed in January, I acted quickly. I held discussions with the Health Board, the Cabinet Secretary for Health, and other key decision-makers. At the time, I welcomed the Board’s decision to not move forward the idea for the remainder of the 2024/25 financial year.

But in March, the very same proposals were brought back and this time, they’ve been approved for implementation from July 2025, covering the 2025/26 financial year. It’s a bitter blow to patients who already face the challenges of living in a rural area and often need to travel long distances for care.

Powys residents rely heavily on hospitals in Shrewsbury, Telford, Oswestry and Hereford. What’s now being proposed would create a two-tier system. One where Powys patients, even when being treated by the same staff in the same hospitals,  are expected to wait longer than their English counterparts. That’s simply not acceptable.

I raised this again with the First Minister at the end of March, and while I welcome her acknowledgement that the plans are wrong in principle, the fact remains that they’re still going ahead. It seems that financial pressures are being placed above the basic right to timely care, and I believe that’s the wrong call.

To escalate this issue further, I’ve now written directly to the First Minister. In my letter, I’ve asked for two very clear commitments.

First, I’ve asked the Welsh Government to provide the necessary funding to Powys Teaching Health Board - an estimated £16 million,  so that they can ensure patients are treated in line with English waiting time targets. If the money is there, there’s no need to ask hospitals across the border to slow down the care they provide to Welsh patients.

Secondly, I’ve asked the First Minister to make it clear that these plans should not proceed. If the Welsh Government agrees they’re unacceptable, then they must act accordingly, either by funding the solution or instructing the Health Board to abandon the plans.

We’ve heard a lot of talk recently about a “new partnership” between the UK Labour Government and the Welsh Labour Government, a closer working relationship, supposedly, that will benefit people in both nations. If that’s truly the case, then this is a test of that partnership. I’ve asked the First Minister to outline what discussions she and her ministers have had with the UK Government on this cross-border issue, and what action she will now take to stand up for Powys patients.

Across the border, waiting times in England are coming down faster than in Wales. There is spare capacity in those hospitals. What we need is for the Welsh Government to ensure Powys patients can benefit from that — fairly and promptly.

This is not about party politics. It’s about ensuring that patients in Powys aren’t left behind and that they receive the healthcare they need and when they need it.

I await the First Minister’s response, and I will continue to raise this in the Senedd chamber, to speak up for Powys patients every step of the way.

Russell George MS
Member of the Senedd for Montgomeryshire