James Evans MS is astonished by Powys Teaching Health Board’s decision to cut MIU services despite receiving millions of pounds at the start of the year to help plan and deliver services.
Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeremy Miles MS yesterday outlined the Welsh Labour Government’s Winter Preparedness Plan for the NHS. Key areas include vaccination, building capacity in primary and community care and for the NHS to deliver effective urgent care services to manage more people in the community. Jeremy Miles MS said: “Health Boards were given an extra £2.7million at the start of the year to help them plan and deliver these services.”
James asked the Cabinet Secretary whether the Welsh Government would consider funding the Brecon and Llandrindod MIU’s themselves, but was met with a short response, stating while funding has been made available for the priorities set out, the health system would still be under incredible pressure.
James Evans MS said:
“To find out Health Boards were given £2.7million to plan these priorities is astonishing when in return all Powys Teaching Health Board have done is reduce our community services by ‘temporarily’ cutting MIU hours and downgrading some Wards to ‘ready to go home’ units. I have written to Powys Teaching Health Board to ask what they have spent this extra money on and what preparations they have made for winter, other than reducing frontline services.
“To remove all MIU capacity after 8pm in the County is a staggering decision. We don’t get much in Powys in the way of public services, and all I am seeing is more and more them being taken away. As we head into the harshest Winter months, this service will be vital for constituents needing access to healthcare when they need it.
“I fear for the frontline staff in the NHS this Winter and the pressures they will endure. Welsh Labour, along with our Health Boards have mismanaged the NHS in Wales for the past 25 years and there was nothing in today’s statement to give me any optimism that the new Cabinet Secretary will do any better.”
