MP raises healthcare concerns with Welsh Secretary

Mark Mansfield

Patients are being “squeezed at both ends” by threats to community hospital beds and lengthy waits for treatment across the border in England, an MP has warned.

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick raised concerns about healthcare provision in Powys with new Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock in the House of Commons.

Mr Chadwick highlighted proposals by Powys Teaching Health Board affecting community hospital beds, as well as waiting times faced by patients sent for treatment in Herefordshire and Shropshire.

Powys has no district general hospital and relies on providers in England for almost 40% of its healthcare.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say that since summer 2025, Powys patients treated at hospitals including Hereford, Shrewsbury, Telford and Oswestry have faced longer waits than patients from England using the same hospitals.

The party claims some Welsh patients have faced waits up to a year longer than people living a few miles away on the English side of the border, with some waiting almost two years.

Mr Chadwick has previously called for spare capacity in English hospitals to be used to treat Powys patients rather than requiring them to wait longer.

Responding in the Commons, Mr Kinnock described cross-border healthcare as a “really important issue” and said the UK and Welsh governments needed to find a better way of working together.

The exchange comes amid opposition to proposals by Powys Teaching Health Board which could reduce community hospital bed capacity.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say the proposals could affect hospitals across the county apart from Newtown and Brecon.

The health board has acknowledged that around 400 beds are needed across health and social care in Powys, compared with 148 currently available, according to the party.

Public meetings opposing potential bed reductions have been held in Ystradgynlais, Builth Wells, Welshpool and Llanidloes.

Realities

Mr Chadwick said: “People in Powys are being squeezed at both ends of a healthcare system that simply isn’t designed around the realities of living in a rural border community.

“We have patients being forced to wait longer for treatment simply because they live on the Welsh side of the border, despite capacity existing in English hospitals. Then, when people do receive treatment, a lack of community beds back home can leave them stuck in hospitals like Hereford when they could be recovering closer to their families.

“Powys Teaching Health Board itself acknowledges that we need around 400 health and social care beds, yet we currently have just 148. Cutting community hospital beds even further in those circumstances is completely backwards.

“I welcome the new Welsh Secretary recognising that cross-border healthcare needs fixing and that we need to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy between the two governments. I now want to see that recognition turned into action.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will keep fighting to ensure both the UK Labour Government and Plaid Cymru Senedd Government actually get together and solve these issues, so our communities stop falling through the cracks.”

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