Residents attend Builth Wells meeting on community hospital beds and cross-border health delays

Around 100 residents attended a public meeting in Builth Wells on Wednesday evening to voice their opposition to proposals to remove community hospital beds across Powys.

The meeting, organised by Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick and Senedd Member Jane Dodds, heard from local residents about the importance of community hospital beds and wider concerns about access to healthcare in rural Mid Wales.

The delays and poor service in cross-border healthcare was also discussed as a major issue during the discussion, with residents raising concerns about the difficulties and long waits patients face when accessing treatment across the border in England.

Attendees also spoke about the important role community hospitals play in allowing people to recover closer to home, supporting families and freeing up capacity in larger acute hospitals.

The meeting in Builth Wells follows a packed meeting in Ystradgynlais earlier in the week, where the venue reached its fire-safety capacity and dozens more residents gathered outside to listen through open doors and windows.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats are calling on Powys Teaching Health Board and the Welsh Government to reconsider the proposed changes and are campaigning to reach 10,000 signatures on their petition opposing the removal of community hospital beds.

The petition can be signed here: https://www.libdems.wales/powyshospitals

Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said:

"Once again we've seen just how strongly people across Powys feel about protecting their local health services. People came out in Builth Wells to make their voices heard, and the message was clear: people do not want to see vital community hospital capacity taken away.

"We also heard repeatedly about the problems people face accessing treatment across the border. For communities in rural Mid Wales, cross-border healthcare isn't some technical issue; it is an everyday reality, and too many people are being left waiting far too long for the care they need.

"Taking away community hospital beds will not solve the pressures facing our NHS. We need to strengthen healthcare provision in rural communities and fix the barriers patients face accessing treatment, not make it harder for them to receive care close to home."

Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Member for Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd Jane Dodds said:

"Thank you to everyone who came along in Builth Wells and shared their experiences. What we heard showed once again how deeply people value their community health services and how worried they are about losing them.

"The concerns raised about cross-border healthcare were particularly striking. People in Powys should not be disadvantaged simply because the services they need happen to be provided on the other side of the border and in a rural county.

"David and I will continue pressing both the Health Board and the Welsh Government to listen to these communities. Powys needs community hospital beds, accessible services and a healthcare system that works for people wherever their treatment is provided."

ENDS