Llanfair Caereinion Medical Practice is the latest to raise concerns with proposed changes to hospitals in the county.

Alongside Dyfi Valley Health, near Machynlleth and Arwystli Medical Practices in Llanidloes and Caersws, Llanfair Caereinion Medical Practice has also raised their concerns with a set of proposals by Powys Teaching Health Board.

Earlier in August, the health board produced the plans in an effort to help people get home from hospital quicker, with Bronllys and Llanidloes hospitals designated as 'Ready To Go Home' units, while Brecon and Newtown would be for patients who need more specialised inpatient rehabilitation.

However, Llanfair Caereinion Medical Practice told patients last week: “We were not consulted on these changes and were only made aware of them in the days leading up to the submission of the board paper”.

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Listing their concerns with the proposal, they added: “We have several concerns about how these changes will affect our practice and your care.

“There's no clarity on who will decide which patients need to be moved to different hospitals. Usually in order to move hospitals there requires discussion between doctors who are responsible for your care.

“The Welsh Ambulance Service Trust (WAST) was not, to our knowledge, consulted, and the changes might put additional strain on their services where patients are being moved, or their clinical needs change and they have to be treated elsewhere, requiring an ambulance to transport them.

“We lack reassurances from the health board that these changes will not affect patients needing end-of-life care.

“Increased travel times for visiting relatives could be difficult for many families, there is no clarity on how this will be managed, potentially leaving patients in hospitals without any visitors.

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“The changes might lead to a reduction in the skills of our nursing staff and the risk that they may leave to seek alternative employment elsewhere, further compounding the recruitment and retention crisis we face.

“Patients might need to be transferred more frequently to district general hospitals, which will increase costs, mean patients are even further from their family and friends and are in a larger and busier setting than is required for the care that they were anticipated to have needed.”

The practice added that it “shares the concerns” raised by patients and encourage them to make their voices heard as the health board collates feedback as part of their engagement process.

Powys Teaching Health Board has previously said the proposals “reduce unnecessary extended stays in hospital, so that patients are able to return to their home including a care home”.

A spokesperson for Powys Teaching Health Board said: “Too many patients are spending too long in hospital. This increases the likelihood of 'deconditioning' where patients lose muscle strength, lose the ability to take care of themselves, and become disoriented.

“This can make it more difficult to return to their previous levels of activity and functioning when they return home, and can increase the chances of readmission to hospital.

“Also, it is difficult to reach out to all parts of a large rural county with the specialist skills needed for the best multi-disciplinary care, and there is too much reliance on very expensive agency staffing.”

You can have your say on the changes here until Sunday, September 8.