Cross-border Healthcare Difficulties Letting Down Patients

Following a Welsh Affairs Select Committee meeting on cross-border health care between England and Wales, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP for the border constituency of Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe has said that the current situation is letting down Welsh patients, especially in Powys.

Commenting after the session, Welsh Liberal Democrat MP David Chadwick said: 

“My constituents in Powys are being seriously let down by these problems.

“Patients in border communities face challenges to accessing healthcare that other regions of Wales don’t and they often feel these are ignored by the Welsh Government, despite the fact between 15-20% of patients in Wales are treated in England. 

“Now in addition to the usual difficulties with referrals and separate IT systems we have abysmal proposals from Powys Health Board to deliberately slow down the treatment of Welsh patients in hospitals in Herefordshire and Shropshire to save money. 

“It isn’t good enough and both the UK and Welsh governments need to be getting together to solve it.”

ENDS