Our Healthcare Desert
2025The Cambrian News launched its campaign ‘Our Healthcare Desert’ to draw attention to the neglect of healthcare and public services across west and mid Wales.
The campaign was prompted by growing frustration at the loss of vital NHS provision, the threatened relocation of air ambulance bases to more populated areas, and the continued downgrading of hospital services. For communities across west Wales, this has meant longer and more dangerous journeys to access treatment at a time when local hospitals are already stretched to the limit.
Although west Wales accounts for around a quarter of the nation, the Cambrian News reported that resources continue to flow to South Wales, north Wales and the Wrexham-Chester corridor. By contrast, rural services are being pared back, public transport remains inadequate, and long-promised rail upgrades have yet to materialise.
The campaign was launched to bring these issues together and to ensure that the voices of local people were heard. It quickly generated a strong reaction and sparked a wider debate about the treatment of rural Wales. In July 2025, the Cambrian News carried the front page Tell Us You Care, First Minister, demanding answers from the government and publishing a special report on the downgrade of the region’s only hospital.
As part of the coverage, the newspaper also published War of Words, which highlighted how local residents and Ceredigion MS Elin Jones strongly rejected First Minister Eluned Moran’s claim that there was no healthcare desert and that the current system was working.
Through ‘Our Healthcare Desert’, the Cambrian News has warned that west and mid Wales are being left dangerously exposed without fair access to health services. The campaign continues to highlight stark disparities between the region and the rest of the country, pressing for urgent change from those in power.
