A Welshpool GP has joined the North Powys Wellbeing Programme team to help in its work to transform health and wellbeing in the area.

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Dr Claire Hirons is a GP Partner at Welshpool and she is now working with the team as a GP Clinical Lead on a part time basis. Her role will be to liaise with GPs working across north Powys to ensure that their expertise is fed into the programme plans.

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‘I have had the pleasure of working in Welshpool for the last 2 years and feel that I have now embedded myself in North Powys,” said Dr Hirons.

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“Prior to this role, I was a GP in Macclesfield where, through the Primary Care Network, I had the opportunity to work closely with the local care communities developing various wellbeing projects. This work gave me a passion for pursuing avenues for collaborative working.”

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“I have seen the benefits that these projects can bring, offering holistic care for our patients within their own communities. I am excited to have been given the opportunity to involve myself in North Powys Wellbeing Programme.”

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The North Powys Wellbeing Programme has a long-term aim to transform health and wellbeing services in the area. As part of this, it is planning a multi-agency wellbeing campus in the centre of Newtown.  The campus will be the home for most of Newtown’s NHS provision (including hospital services) and it’s planned that the campus would also provide social care and voluntary sector services. A new health and care academy working closely with the library is also part of the programme team’s plans for the site, alongside Park Street.

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Earlier this year, the team – which is based at Ladywell House on Park Street in Newtown - submitted a Strategic Outline Case for the campus to the Welsh Government for endorsement.

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Carys Williams, is the team’s Clinical Change Manager and is a former A&E nurse at Bronglais Hospital in Aberyswtyth. “The Newtown campus is an important element of our work but our programme isn’t just about the campus. We’re looking to see how we can improve services at all of our hospitals in the north of the county and, where we can do it safely, bring some services back from outside of the county.

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She added: “We’ve also put some money into funding new services – such as the new eye-care clinics in Llanidloes and Welshpool hospitals - as we could see that there were opportunities to make quick improvements. These clinics are now up and running, offering scanning facilities which weren’t previously available in north Powys.”