Speaking in the House of Commons, David Chadwick highlighted two of the major threats facing Powys residents, including the threat of bed cuts to all of Powys’ hospitals apart from Newtown and Brecon and the increased waiting times for Powys patients being treated overthe border in Herefordshire and Shropshire.

The Welsh Liberal Democrats have been campaigning against Powys Teaching Health Board proposals to remove community hospital beds across the county. The Health Board has itself acknowledged that Powys needs around 400 beds across health and social care, compared with only 148 currently available, yet is considering reducing community hospital capacity further.

The proposals have sparked significant opposition across Powys, with hundreds of residents attending public meetings in Ystradgynlais, Builth Wells, Welshpool and Llanidloes. The party have argued that reducing beds risks increasing delayed discharges and placing further pressure on both Welsh services and neighbouring hospitals in England and has instead called for greater community and social care capacity.

The Party have also been leading a campaign against changes which have significantly increased waiting times for Powys patients who depend on hospitals across the border. Powys has no district general hospital of its own and relies on English providers for almost 40% of its healthcare.

Since summer 2025, Powys patients receiving treatment at hospitals including Hereford, Shrewsbury, Telford and Oswestry have been required to wait longer than English patients in the same hospitals, despite previously being treated equally.

This has left some patients facing waits up to a year longer than patients living just a few miles away across the border, with some waits extending to almost two years.

MP Chadwick has repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament and has called for spare capacity in English hospitals to be used rather than artificially extending waiting times for Welsh patients.

Responding to Chadwick in the Commons, the new Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock described cross-border healthcare as a “really important issue” and said the UK and Plaid Cymru Welsh Governments needed to find a better way of working together.

Commenting, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe David Chadwick said: “People in Powys are being squeezed at both ends of a healthcare system that simply isn't designed around the realities of living in a rural border community.

“We have patients being forced to wait longer for treatment simply because they live on the Welsh side of the border, despite capacity existing in English hospitals. Then, when people do receive treatment, a lack of community beds back home can leave them stuck in hospitals like Hereford when they could be recovering closer to their families.

“Powys Teaching Health Board itself acknowledges that we need around 400 health and social care beds, yet we currently have just 148. Cutting community hospital beds even further in those circumstances is completely backwards.

“I welcome the new Welsh Secretary recognising that cross-border healthcare needs fixing and that we need to cut through the red tape and bureaucracy between the two governments. I now want to see that recognition turned into action.

“The Welsh Liberal Democrats will keep fighting to ensure both the UK Labour Government and Plaid Cymru Senedd Government actually get together and solve these issues, so our communities stop falling through the cracks.”