A Powys county councillor has called for a new hospital in Newtown and a new Llanymynech bypass as part of wider reforms of the Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust.

Responding to the 'Future Fit' survey issued by SaTH earlier this year, Plaid Cymru Councillor for Glantwymyn Elwyn Vaughan also said a 24-hour ambulance service station should be sited in Llanidloes as part of a range of measures to better connect Mid-Wales with any new facilities set to be provided in Shrewsbury or Telford following the consultation.

The 'Future Fit' review will see one of Shropshire's two hospitals becoming an emergency care site and the other a planned care site. Accident and emergency services at the 'planned care' site would be downgraded from the current 24-hour A&E department, although health bosses say it would remain open as a 24-hour 'Urgent Care Centre'. The current preferred option is to retain A&E services in Shrewsbury.

"We need a range of actions to be undertaken for the benefit of residents in north Powys. What discussions has the trust had with the Welsh Government and health boards in Wales to support community transport links from the Newtown area to Shrewsbury to ease accessibility?" he said.

"Plaid Cymru wants to see a 24 hour ambulance station based in Llanidloes and the development of the new integrated hospital at Newtown as soon as possible. We are calling for access to Wrexham Maelor Hospital as and when needed. This is particularly important for residents in north Montgomeryshire.

"We are also calling for enhanced transport links with Wrexham including for the Welsh Government to fund a bypass for Pant and Llanymynech [and] a transport study to reopen the railway line from Welshpool to Gobowen as part of the Mid Wales Growth deal."

Cllr Vaughan supported calls for accident and emergency services to be based in Shrewsbury, saying patients in Mid-Wales could be placed at increased risk if emergency care services were based 13 miles further down the A5 in Telford.

"Trauma Networks are very clear that patients in mid Wales would be placed at increased risk by replacing the A&E department at Shrewsbury Hospital with an Emergency Care Centre at Telford Hospital," he said.

"Primarily for this reason as an Assembly Member representing Mid and West Wales I support the option currently preferred by the Future Fit Programme, making Shrewsbury the site of the Emergency Care Centre and maintain its status as a Trauma Centre."

The future fit consultation closed for responses in September, with more than 16,000 surveys currently being analysed.

Earlier this month Simon Freeman, the accountable officer at Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, told the organisation's board that an initial analysis of the consultation responses is being undertaken by an independent third party, with a business case set to be presented in January 2019.

"The outcome will be a formal report to the programme board which will take place in late 2018 with various documents that will constitute the business case which will go to the CCG board meeting in late 2018 or January 2019."