Senedd backs call to rule out hospital closures

The Senedd has urged the Welsh government to rule out hospital closures and service downgrades for the next four years, in a vote opposed by Plaid Cymru ministers.

MSs backed an amended Conservative motion incorporating Labour's call to prioritise patient safety and a Reform UK demand for ministers to explain how they would tackle a maintenance backlog in the Welsh NHS.

Conservative Peter Fox called for the "managed decline" of local hospitals to be ruled out, while Reform UK's James Evans said people wanted certainty services would not be downgraded or withdrawn.

But Health Minister Mabon ap Gwynfor said healthcare decisions were "almost never black and white".

Plaid Cymru, which ended 27 years of Welsh Labour rule in May's Senedd election, is six seats short of a majority in the 96-member Welsh Parliament and is therefore vulnerable to defeats by opposition parties.

Reform UK, Labour, the Conservatives, the Green Party and the Liberal Democrats combined to pass the motion by 48 votes to 38, with no abstentions on Wednesday evening.

While non-binding, the vote is part of a wider effort by opposition parties to increase pressure on the Plaid Cymru government over the contentious issue of health.

Opening the debate, Conservative MS Peter Fox said his party "cannot stand by and support the continual systemic downgrading of our healthcare services across Wales".

"Today, we are calling on this new Welsh government to draw a line in the sand and rule out the managed decline of our local hospitals.

"Every member in this chamber represents a constituency where local hospitals face serious structural and maintenance issues. But simply rationalising services and closing facilities without addressing the root causes isn't just short-sighted, it's completely missing the mark."

Reform UK's James Evans said people wanted "straight answers".

"They want to know: is that local hospital service going to be there?

"Is it going to be downgraded?

"Because if that is the option, I think the cabinet minister needs to be honest with people today."

Health minister Mabon ap Gwynfor said the debate was "not black and white, between keeping the past or leaving it behind".

"The question is whether the decisions we make in this chamber will provide better care, better access and better survival rates for our loved ones," he said.

"That means investing in the estate where it can be modernised. It means strengthening services in the community. It means having the political courage to support change that is evidence based."

Earlier, Welsh Labour's interim leader Ken Skates called for the rebuilding of Cardiff's University Hospital of Wales and Wrexham Maelor Hospital, as well as a "new hospital development in west Wales".

He said that would "ensure state-of-the-art hospitals" were serving large parts of the country.

The proposal was rejected by Senedd members, with the Conservatives abstaining.