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ÖPIK GETS GOVERNMENT TO COMMIT TO ADDRESS ILL PROVISION OF CROSS BORDER HEALTH SERVICES
October 22, 2008 2:27 PM
Lembit Öpik, Liberal Democrat MP for Montgomeryshire, today secured a commitment for action from the Secretary of State over the differential between health services in Wales and in England.
Commenting, he said:
"Many people in Montgomeryshire will have to travel over the border to gain access to healthcare, Powys has no District General Hospital within its borders and so many of my constituents naturally use Oswestry or Shrewsbury hospitals. I have also had a number of constituents visit my surgeries with terrible accounts of the difficulties they've had in receiving treatment.
"I am concerned that the difference in waiting times on either side of the border needs to be resolved, and that the difficulty in co-ordinating healthcare across two different healthcare systems should be addressed as a priority by the Secretary of State.
"I am pleased that the Government is continuing to look into this issue as one for concern and that they have taken on board the Welsh Affairs Select Committee's Interim report and its stress upon the need for "border-proofing" health provision."
In response to the question from Lembit Opik, Wales Minister Wayne David said that there were ongoing discussions about the cross-border protocol, and that recent discussions had been very productive and would be in place by the end of the year.
"I look forward to hearing more about the implementation of the cross-border protocol and I will continue to monitor this as it unfolds."
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