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Latest Assurance Report on Temporary Service Changes to be considered on 25 March 2026

A meeting of the Board of Powys Teaching Health Board will take place in public from 9.30am on Wednesday 25 March 2026. The agenda and papers, with a link to the livestream, will be available in advance of the meeting from our website.

A number of temporary service changes were introduced in late 2024 to Minor Injury Units and community hospital inpatient care in Powys.

These temporary changes have been subject to thorough and ongoing review.

Throughout this process, we have listened closely to local residents, staff, community groups, councillors, MSs, MPs and others. We fully understand the strength of feeling, and the deep civic pride in local hospitals. People care profoundly about the future of their local hospitals, and so do we.

At the same time, we have a responsibility to ensure that all services are safe, properly staffed and able to deliver the right care for patients. The temporary changes were introduced because the previous arrangements were becoming increasingly unreliable, with staff shortages leading to short‑notice closures and pressure on teams. The temporary model has allowed us to provide safer, more consistent services while we work on longer‑term solutions.

Over the past year we have undertaken a thorough, conscientious programme of review and engagement, including:

  • looking at patient experience, safety, outcomes and staffing
  • gathering feedback from patients, the public and partners
  • monitoring how the changes have worked in practice
  • reviewing clinical and workforce data
  • speaking with staff and listening to their experience

The evidence shows that the current temporary arrangements have improved safety, reliability and patient flow:

  • Improved reliability and safety in MIU services through stabilised opening hours and elimination of lone working
  • Reduced lengths of stay, improved flow, and significantly reduced agency costs in our Ready to Go Home and rehabilitation wards
  • Positive patient and staff feedback, with no evidence of harm
  • Benefits to system‑wide flow and reduced use of out‑of‑county beds, although we recognise that this does mean that patients may not be accommodated in their most local community hospital when they return to Powys.

Based on this, the Executive Team is recommending to the Board that the temporary service changes remain in place while the wider work of the Better Together programme continues. This recommendation will be considered at a meeting in public of the Board on 25 March 2026.

Why These Decisions Cannot Be Made in Isolation

Essentially, it would not be right or fair to make decisions about any single hospital without considering the needs of the whole county.

Powys is a rural area with a small population spread over a large geography. Many of our services rely on a small number of highly skilled staff. Making changes in one locality can have a significant impact elsewhere.

This is why the longer term future of services will be considered through the Better Together programme, which will come forward for formal public consultation later this year. This work brings together population health needs, clinical evidence, workforce information and financial realities to help shape the best possible mix of community services for Powys over the next 10 to 25 years.

The recommendation to the Board emphasises that decisions about temporary services must therefore remain aligned to this wider vision, rather than being taken in isolation.

What Happens Next?

This recommendation will be considered at a meeting in public of the Board on 25 March 2026.

We will ensure that the decisions of the Board are publicised via our channels.

If the recommendation is approved then the temporary changes will continue to remain in place, with decisions on the permanent future shape of services to be made through the Better Together programme on which formal consultation is expected during 2026/27.

Further Information

More information about the temporary changes, including the background and reasons for change, and the recent period of engagement and review, is available from https://pthb.nhs.wales/temporary-2026 

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