Hundreds of people packed into a public meeting in Llanidloes on Tuesday evening as opposition continues to grow to proposed cuts to community hospital services across Powys.

The meeting was organised by the Welsh Liberal Democrats as part of their campaign to protect community hospitals in Powys and was chaired by Welsh Liberal Democrat Leader Jane Dodds MS, alongside Llanidloes councillors Glyn Preston and Fleur Frantz-Morgans.

Residents met to discuss leaked proposals by Powys Teaching Health Board that could see inpatient beds removed from all Powys hospitals apart from Newtown and Brecon.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have warned the plans risk the “closure of community hospitals by stealth”, as more and more services are stripped away from local facilities.

The party has also warned that cutting community beds could leave more Powys patients facing prolonged stays in larger hospitals such as Shrewsbury and Telford, because fewer beds would be available locally for patients well enough to leave acute care but not yet ready to return home. This could leave recovering patients further away from their communities and make regular visits from family and friends longer, more difficult and, for some, impractical.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats say the proposed cuts come as Powys Teaching Health Board is being forced by the Welsh Government to find almost £40 million in savings, piling pressure on already stretched local health services.

They are calling on the Plaid Cymru Welsh Government to intervene to protect services, arguing that the Government ultimately determines the funding available to health boards and has the power to provide additional financial support.

The party has also challenged Plaid Cymru to deliver on its pre-election commitments to rural communities and ensure the particular costs of providing healthcare across a large and sparsely populated county are properly reflected in funding decisions.

Llanidloes county councillor Glyn Preston said: “Five hundred people turning out in Llanidloes sends an incredibly powerful message about how much our community values its hospital and how determined people are to defend it. I will be working alongside our residents to defend our hospital.

"But anger shouldn't just be directed at the Health Board. The Plaid Cymru Welsh Government has the power to act. Powys is being expected to make enormous savings while trying to provide healthcare across one of the most rural parts of Wales.

"Plaid Cymru promised before the election that rural communities would receive greater recognition in the funding of public services. Now they are in Government, people in Llanidloes rightly expect them to deliver.

"Mabon ap Gwynfor isn't only the Health Minister; he is also one of the Senedd Members representing Montgomeryshire. He should understand exactly what losing services like these would mean for communities here. We need him to step in and help stop these plans."

Cllr Fleur Frantz-Morgans added: "For rural communities, having healthcare available locally is incredibly important. Removing services doesn't remove the need for care, it simply forces people to travel further and risks putting additional pressure elsewhere in the NHS.”

Powys Teaching Health Board says no decisions had been made and a formal public consultation on future options is expected later this year.