Machynlleth day services for the elderly are one of only two Powys centres not to have reopened post-pandemic.

A review published by Powys County Council reveals Machynlleth and Presteigne were the only centres not to be recommissioned in 2022.

Three years on, councillors in Machynlleth are despondent, having received no straight answer from Powys County Council on if day services will resume.

Machynlleth Town Councillor Norma McCarten said: “It seems to me that whenever there’s a cut, Machynlleth is the first in line.

“I feel that unless we make a fuss, nothing will come of this.

“We’re all extremely frustrated, there’s a deafening silence from Powys.”

Cllr McCarten, the town council and the Patient Forum Group for Bro Ddyfi Community Hospital have received “disappointing” responses to repeated requests for information from Powys, including a Freedom of Information request.

A day services review, published over a year late, proposed a new model which was approved this May by Powys, but no location-specific details have yet been released.

Care staff in the town have now switched employers three times in the last 10 months, as the current partial commission for domiciliary care became untenable.

Meanwhile, the community-owned building which once housed Machynlleth’s day centre loses £2,000 a quarter to hold the space for the service.

Holly Faircloth, General Manager at the Machynlleth and District Care Centre, said: “Machynlleth and District Care Centre Trust are very concerned about the lack of bathing and day centre provision within the town.

“One whole wing of our building, which is set up for provision of such services, is sitting empty, which is impacting the centre's finances.

“We get a lot of enquiries about the resumption of this service from members of the community and health professionals.”

McCarten said the major gap is in social support, giving carers time, either with home respite care or via a day centre, where lunch and social activities were provided along with nurse visits, and a bathing service.

She added: “Currently, [elderly in need] don’t have a supportive respite place to go, particularly those whose first language is Welsh.

“I’m unaware of anywhere locally that older people can go with support of trained staff.

“It’s a great preventative service.”

In response, a Powys County Council spokesperson apologised for the delayed review, which was put together with “stakeholders... to shape a new model that offers more personalised support and builds on our community strengths within our available budget”.

They added: “While the review was ongoing, we paused the reopening of day centres so that future plans could be based on up-to-date information about what people need.

“Any person with day service needs known to us in Machynlleth has been supported in other ways in the meantime...

“The locality-specific plans cannot be made public until all affected staff have had the opportunity to discuss the potential impact on them and to explore their options.

“This process is now underway and when it is complete, we will share the full information with councils and communities.”