The recent announcement from Powys Teaching Health Board that they will be cutting the opening hours at minor injury units and changes to wards in Powys was regrettable, but there is still hope for a lifeline for our rural NHS services, writes Jane Dodds MS.

I would like to start off by first expressing how disappointed I was when I heard about this decision from the Powys Teaching Health Board, which will have a severe effect on the quality of healthcare on offer to local residents.

As a predominantly rural area, we here in Powys cannot afford to place further hurdles in the way of residents simply trying to access healthcare services.

While I appreciate that PTHB are, like many health boards across Wales, having to deal with a difficult financial picture thanks to decades of neglect to our NHS from Welsh Labour, I’m afraid that the decision to approve these plans was wrong.

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The people of Powys should not be expected to pick up the pieces left by Welsh Labour’s mismanagement of our healthcare services.

We as the Welsh Liberal Democrats want to see a fresh approach to how the NHS is ran in Wales, an approach that champions the best interests of both patients and staff.

One way in which we can carry out this fresh approach is by working with others to help cut down on the sky-high waiting lists currently affecting health boards across Wales, including here in Powys.

Back in September it was suggested that both the UK and Welsh governments could work together as part of a “cross-border care plan” that would see patients from Wales receive treatment in England and vice versa.

Many people living in areas such as Powys are already well aware of the benefits that can come from cross-border care, and we would welcome more of this type of thing if it meant that our residents are being cared for in the best possible way.

However, a plan without an end-goal is doomed from the start, which is why we urgently need to see from the Welsh Government a clear set of targets as part of this cross-border care plan.

We cannot afford anymore recklessness when it comes to our NHS, let’s knuckle down and get started on a plan that could change the way our NHS is run for the better.