Montgomeryshire AM Mick Bates has written to the Minister for Health and Social Services to highlight his continued support for the proposed merger between Powys LHB and Powys County Council and asks the Minister to outline her views following the concerns raised by KPMG and to clarify what support is being given to enable the merger to progress.
Commenting Mr Bates said:
“Following the report by consultants KPMG, I welcome the continued efforts being made by Powys County Council and Local Health Board to amalgamate the functions of the health board with those of the local county council, which I hope will eventually lead to greater integration, community engagement and cohesion with respect to health services.
“This is new terrain but we have the opportunity in Powys to pioneer a new approach to delivering on rural needs, which are inherently different to those in urban areas. In Powys we are the only commissioning health board in Wales, which highlights that rural challenges need innovative solutions and I welcome the work of the council and LHB which recognises this.
“There will no doubt be difficult questions to answer in relation to the obstacles to a full merger identified by KPMG, primarily the underlying debt of Powys LHB, but I am certain that these issues can be resolved. I have raised the issue in the Chamber with the Minister for Health, who is committed to the ongoing work between the Powys LHB and local authority and states that she would not want any outstanding health debt to have any impact on what any new structures might be, which I welcome. I have written to the Minister for an outline of the measures being taken to progress these proposals and look forward to the reply.”
Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Candidate Wyn Williams added:
“Unnecessary overlaps between health and social services are costly and inefficient and combining services and pooling resources can offer a cost effective model for the future. I believe that a merger would increase local democratic accountability and be a positive force towards ensuring that the debt situation that Powys LHB has entered into does not happen again. A community basis for the delivery of services is extremely important, particularly in rural areas and I believe that an amalgamated body would increase the accessibility of local, specialist services that communities within Powys need.”
