Powys Teaching Health Board members have unanimously voted to cut the opening hours of Minor Injury Units and centralise some inpatient hospital care.

At a meeting of the Board today (Thursday) members received detailed feedback from a six-week engagement process on proposals to downgrade services.

The Board then approved a recommendation to temporarily change the opening hours for Minor Injury Units in Brecon and Llandrindod Wells to 8am to 8pm.

They also agreed a temporary change to the clinical model for inpatient care in Brecon, Bronllys, Llanidloes and Newtown. 

The proposals will be introduced on a temporary basis for a six-month period.

A timetable for implementation will now be agreed, with both changes expected to be in place by December. 

The health board says its aim is to respond to challenges facing the NHS and local patients, to improve quality and value, and to stabilise the delivery of key services.

The engagement exercise had directly heard from nearly 800 “voices” through survey responses and correspondence, 735 online survey responses, in addition to 32 written submissions direct to the health board and 17 via Llais.

A petition to keep Brecon MIU open overnight was signed by 2,412 people.

A further 673 people signed a petition to keep Llandrindod Wells MIU open overnight.

A third petition was signed by 2,300 people against the changes to Llanidloes hospital which was formally lodged with the health board ahead of the meeting.

The reports estimate that 500 people attended four public meeting and a further 80 people attended online webinars.

Dr Carl Cooper, Chair of Powys Teaching Health Board, said: “We are grateful to the many people, groups and communities that have participated in the engagement exercise regarding the proposed temporary service changes. The Board has given full and conscientious consideration to all the feedback. We have also scrutinised the benefits of the proposals together with the risks of not addressing the challenges to the quality and sustainability of services.

“Consequently, we have agreed that the implementation of these temporary changes is the best and appropriate way forward. These changes will be subject to review and evaluation, and their effectiveness will be considered by the Board at the end of the six-month, temporary period.  The feedback we have heard from the public, staff, GP Practices and partners has helped us develop a clear framework for learning, review and evaluation." 

• The Minor Injuries Unit in Brecon will be open from 8am to 8pm (currently open 24 hours a day)

• The Minor Injuries Unit in Llandrindod Wells will open from 8am to 8pm (currently open 7am to midnight)

• Graham Davies Ward in Llanidloes will have a strengthened focus on patients who are assessed as Ready To Go Home 

• Brynheulog Ward in Newtown will have a strengthened focus on patients who are assessed as requiring more specialised rehabilitation in a community hospital setting 

• Llewelyn Ward in Bronllys will have a strengthened focus on patients who are assessed as Ready To Go Home 

• Epynt Ward in Brecon will have a strengthened focus on patients who are assessed as requiring more specialised rehabilitation in a community hospital setting 


Hayley Thomas, Chief Executive of Powys Teaching Health Board, said: “Today’s decisions also included key steps to respond to the concerns that we heard during the engagement period, for example by clarifying that end of life care will continue to be provided in Bronllys and Llanidloes hospitals, and step-up care will continue to be available for GP admissions.

“We will be working with GPs and other partners to implement clear clinical admission criteria to help us provide the best care in the right place for Powys patients.” 

Claire Roche, Executive Director of Nursing, Quality, Women and Children’s Health for Powys Teaching Health Board said: “We are confident that this temporary model of inpatient care will help us deliver better outcomes and experience for our patients. 

“Importantly, the number of community hospital beds and their locations remains unchanged across the county. But by giving a clearer focus to wards in Bronllys and Llanidloes as ‘Ready To Go Home’ units we can provide more focused care for people who are ready to go home but are waiting for a package of care in the community. We can help people to remain mobile and active, which is important to reduce the risk of deconditioning in a hospital setting. 

“Similarly, we can ensure a faster recovery for more patients by strengthening the role of wards in Brecon and Newtown for the provision of specialised inpatient rehabilitation. This builds on their existing role as our centres for stroke rehabilitation. 

“The remaining community hospitals in Powys would continue to provide care for patients in the way that they do now.” 

Kate Wright, Executive Medical Director of Powys Teaching Health Board said: "These temporary changes will allow our Minor Injury Units to provide a more reliable service. 

“During the engagement period we heard a lot of misunderstanding of the role of Minor Injuries Units. We cannot stress strongly enough that these units are for the treatment of minor injuries only. They are not for life or limb-threatening injuries or for major illnesses. 

“In an emergency people should call 999 or go to A&E. Visiting an MIU with an urgent medical condition can delay access to life-saving care.” 

The health board will launch a marketing campaign ahead of the change in MIU opening hours, which is expected to begin during November.

Other urgent care services such as 111 and ShropDoc are unchanged. 

The agenda and papers for the meeting of the Health Board on 10 October 2024 are available from the Health Board website here.

A recording of the meeting will also be available from the website shortly. 

Regular updates on the temporary changes will be presented to future meetings of the Board.