Decision on Powys Hospital changes to be made in July
In a meeting of Powys Teaching Board, it was heard that the decision on whether keep controversial temporary changes implemented at the beginning of the year will be made in July.
Changes were made to Bronllys Hospital and Llanidloes War Memorial Hospital with wards designated as 'Ready To Go Home' units while Brecon and Newtown have been changed to support patients 'who need more specialised inpatient rehabilitation'.
The changes were highly controversial when they were implemented with Arwystli Medical Practice in Llanidloes being highly critical.
In a post last year, a spokesperson for the practice said: ''Ready to go home' wards allow the health board to sidestep minimum nursing staffing levels.
'This means fewer nurses looking after our community hospital patients so when patients develop extra care needs or become unwell, there won't be the resources to provide the needed care or treatment.'
The plans also saw a backlash in Powys with Glyn Preston, county councillor for Llanidloes, travelling to PTHB's headquarters in Bronllys with a busload of residents to hand over a petition signed by more than 2,400 people to the health board's chief executive Hayley Thomas.
It was not indicated whether the changes would be made permanent as consultation on the effectiveness of the changes has not been completed and a 'full evaluation report' will be made ahead of the boards meeting in July.
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This comes as the Powys Teaching Health Board are continuing to face further financial pressure with a estimated financial deficit this year of over £20 million.
This is despite other controversial changes passed this year which will purposefully make patients wait longer for treatment in English Hospitals to lower costs.
Further to this, there is currently a consultation being led by the health board to see what changes residents wish to see to services as part of its 'Better Together' plans.
However chief executive Hayley Thomas admitted that there would be 'difficult options going forward' as the board tried to balance its budget and met its statutory commitments set out by the Welsh Government.
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