Patients in Powys feel like second-class citizens due to longer waiting times and cuts by the cash-strapped health board will only worsen the problem, Senedd members warned.

James Evans, who was appointed the Conservatives’ shadow health secretary last month, raised concerns about Powys teaching health board’s plans to balance its books.

Mr Evans, who represents Brecon and Radnorshire, said the proposals include asking English providers to keep Powys patients waiting longer for treatment to save money.

He told the Senedd: “Powys patients already feel like second-class citizens due to longer waiting times for treatment compared to other areas across the country, and proposals that deliberately extend waiting times will only deepen those problems.

“We've already been told that people need timely care, and the longer they wait, that means the more times they go into other services – back to GPs, back to physios, back to A&E departments, calling ambulances because they're in pain.”

Russell George, a fellow Conservative who represents Montgomeryshire, said 60% of his constituents receive treatment from hospitals over the border.

He said: “Powys health board is proposing to ask providers in England to not see patients too quickly because they can't afford to pay.

“I can't quite believe that I'm actually saying this. It is a ludicrous position to be in that patients from Wales could be sat in the same hospital, being seen by the same health professionals, but are not seen as quickly as English patients.”

Questioning Wales’ health secretary Jeremy Miles, he urged the Welsh Government to intervene ahead of Friday’s health board meeting.

Jane Dodds, leader of the Lib Dems in Wales, similarly voiced deep concerns about the impact of a £9.4m deficit, with a freeze on recruitment and agency staff on the table.

Mr Miles told the Senedd that ministers provided significant additional funding, which he did not put a number on, to the health board in the weeks before Christmas.

“All health boards need to be able to balance their budgets,” he said.

“This isn't a negotiable element … what I hope to see is that the board is able to make decisions that enable the budget to be balanced and also to make sure that people get the care in the timely way that they need.”

Giving a wider update about winter pressures on January 7, Mr Miles warned NHS Wales has seen a spike in the number of people with flu in hospitals throughout December.

He said: “The latest available data show there are more than 900 people with flu, Covid-19 and RSV in our hospital beds. This is 20% more than in the same period last year.”

Mabon ap Gwynfor, for Plaid Cymru, warned that winter pressures inevitably increase each year while the ability of the health service to cope decreases.

The party’s shadow health secretary warned of a fall in the number of over 65s and health workers taking up the flu vaccine compared with last year.

Mr ap Gwynfor criticised “underinvestment” in NHS estate capacity and “consistent mismanagement of scarce resources” by the Welsh Government.

Lesley Griffiths, a Labour backbencher who represents Wrexham, said only 27% of NHS staff have had the flu vaccine as she called for more to be done to encourage uptake.

Ms Griffiths, a former health minister, suggested expanding the groups that are offered the vaccine by, for example, making a free jab available to over-55s.