“Temporary” changes to hospital care in Powys which included downgrades of services at Llanidloes hospital will now be in place for up to two years, as Powys Teaching Health Board’s (PTHB) Better Together programme is paused until after next year’s Senedd elections.

Plans to centre services on four Powys hospitals due to specific need in a bid to save cash which saw services downgraded at Llanidloes War Memorial hospital were originally approved last October despite warnings from local doctors and a 2,300 signature petition against the move.

Llanidloes and Bronllys hospitals now provide care packages for patients requiring no additional treatment and are “ready to go home”, whilst Newtown and Brecon hospitals provide rehabilitation care for patients.

At a board meeting on Wednesday, 26 November, members received an update on the work done so far on “Better Together” – PTHB’s programme to transform and reorganise health services and what is set to happen next year.

Director of People and Culture Debra Wood-Lawson said: “The decision takes account of the forthcoming Senedd elections and means the consultation for phase one is likely to take place around September next year.”

Phase one of Better Together covers adult physical and mental health community services.

Ms Wood-Lawson continued: “We do recognise the impact of the changed timeline on temporary service changes, and this is an area of key interest and concern for our communities.

“Given that no new issues have been identified, we consider the tying of the temporary service changes to the revised timeline of Better Together would make more sense.”

Medical Director Dr Kate Wright explained that since the “formal evaluation” of the temporary changes in the summer “no significant concerns” had cropped up since then.

She added that there would be ongoing monitoring of both the MIU and the hospital ward co-location and any problems would be “escalated” if needed.

Katie Blackburn, the regional Director of Llais, the independent advocacy group which represents patients in Powys and throughout Wales said: “It is clear that those temporary services changes are likely to be for two years.

“This creates a great deal of anxiety for those communities.”

She believed that the decision needs to be further explained in those areas and that PTHB needs to produce a fresh integrated impact assessment on the temporary changes.

Ms Blackburn added: “We have committed to visiting those co-located units in January to seek the views of individuals on any potential unintended consequences.”

Ms Wright explained that the original impact assessment for the changes had been looked at and would be put through a “more formal” reassessment.

The board then went ahead and voted to approve the report.

The changes were originally agreed in July 2024 as part of the Health Board’s attempts to claw back a £23 million budget deficit last year.

Due to the public backlash against the proposal, the health board conducted a six-week engagement process in August and September.

The board met in October and approved the move for a second time.