A health emergency in Powys has been declared by county councillors, but the move has been dismissed as a political stunt by some members ahead of May’s Senedd elections.

At a Powys County Council meeting on 5 March, councillors received a motion by Anti-Poverty champion Cllr Joy Jones to call a “Powys Health Crisis Emergency and expresses its deep concern at the unacceptable state of healthcare provision for the people of Powys.”

The six point motion called for “immediate intervention by Welsh Government to stabilise services and protect patient safety in Powys” as well as a “halt to any further erosion of local healthcare provision, including community hospital downgrades or closures.”

It called for “urgent investment in local recruitment and retention of doctors, dentists, and nurses” and “recognition that Powys residents must not be treated as second‑class citizens when it comes to healthcare access and outcome.”

The motion also called for a “clear, transparent plan from Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) and Welsh Government to restore safe, accessible, and dignified healthcare for all Powys residents.”

Two amendments made by Cllr Glyn Preston to the motion called on “all parties standing in the Senedd elections to commit to more investment in social care to improve the outcomes for people leaving hospital and cut waiting times at NHS hospitals” and “to commit to the completion within the term of the next Welsh government of the North Powys Wellbeing Hub.”

Councillors voted to add the amendments to the original motion.

Conservative group leader, Cllr Aled Davies said: “I fully approve of this motion.

“If successful at the election, the Welsh Conservatives will declare a national health emergency on day one in response to the crisis our NHS is in.”

Deputy council leader and Labour group leader, Cllr Matthew Dorrance, said: “It wasn’t that long ago we stood on our doorsteps and clapped the NHS.

“Now it feels because the Welsh Parliament elections are approaching, there are some in this room who want to give them a kicking instead, and that feels grossly unfair.”

He said that the route to solving the issues would be to talk to Powys Teaching Health Board (PTHB) in private rather than bring motions with “inflammatory language that seeks to scare the public.”

Cllr Dorrance added: “This motion is incredibly political and is confused; it talks about so many issues but fails to deal with anything head-on.”

Cllr Sian Cox said: “The motion ignores the context that the health crisis sits within, which is UK-wide, with a host of interrelated and complex causes and a public sector funding crisis.

“PTHB is not responsible for the causes of the crisis; it’s one of our partner agencies and, like us, it’s struggling to meet demand without sufficient resources to do that.

“I don’t see how blaming, accusing, or demanding is going to contribute in any way to reducing the health crisis.”

Eventually, a vote on what ended up being a seven-point motion saw 42 votes in favour, 10 against, and one abstention.