Calls have been made to tackle the crisis in rural health care and improve GP waiting times following talks with GPs in Llanidloes.

Welsh Liberal Democrat Councillor for Llanidloes and Senedd candidate for Gwynedd Maldwyn Glyn Preston called for a number of measures to tackle the crisis following a visit and meeting by Liberal Democrat MP and member of Parliament’s Health and Social Care Select Committee Andrew George.

During the visit, Cllr Preston and Andrew George toured Llanidloes GP practice and met with local GPs to hear first-hand about the pressures facing the rural NHS.

A major concern raised by clinicians was the increasing centralisation of decision-making within the health board.

GPs explained that hospital admissions must now be approved by a central authority based in Brecon, despite having no direct connection to local communities.

This process forces doctors with in-depth knowledge of their patients to wait for external approval before admitting individuals to their local hospital, resulting in significant delays to care.

Cllr Glyn Preston said: “Local doctors know their patients and their communities best.

“It is deeply frustrating that they are being overruled or delayed by a centralised system that lacks local knowledge.

“We need to restore decision-making powers to our communities so patients can receive timely, appropriate care.”

“Andrew George MP highlighted successful examples of community-led healthcare reform in Cornwall, where services have been shaped through close collaboration between healthcare professionals and local residents.”

Ahead of the Senedd elections, the Welsh Liberal Democrats are committing to introducing a rural GP premium to attract and keep GPs in rural communities as well as training more GPs and Allied Health Professionals in Wales to end the shortages, and cutting red tape and administrative burden impacting GP surgeries and taking away vital time and resources from practices.