. STROAT + Forest of Dean
Cross Border Health Care In Stroat
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Hi,
as a resident of Stroat one is singularly well provided for in terms of the NHS!
I, like others in the immediate vicinity, which includes Beachley, Tutshill, Sedbury, Woodcroft etc., have the advantage that we can utilise Doctor’s practices in Chepstow OR those in Lydney!
In choosing our house, as a long term cancer patient, we did not wish to change medical practices, having been a patient on the books of a Chepstow practice the thought of changing to new Doctors and utilising new hospitals was concerning as I know the urology department at the Royal gwent well after almost 18 years of cancer care from that department and although Velindra is almost 40 miles away I can not speak too highly of their services.
As long as we purchased our new home after 30 years of living in Chepstow, from 1983 in the center of the town, we could remain with our Doctors and access to the same Consultants and their staff as long as we did not venture beyond the Woolaston turn off on the A48!
We now have the best of both world with a local Doctor with a surgery facility in Sedbury and able to have treatment at the Monmouthshire and Welsh hospitals (where certain services are dismal due to devolution and Labour’s foolish desire to stamp its impramature on the service at obscene cost to the NHS budget that has harmed many services), where we are not entirely happy our Doctors, due to our Gloucestershire location, can access services in the Gloucestershire region, including such excellent facilities as the Cheltenham scanning and radiography center of excellence at The Cobalt Health Centrer CLICK HERE or HERE or HERE etc.
We also have access to the new Southmead Hospital, the BRI, The Royal Gloucester, etc. etc.
It is also hugely convenient to have the Minor Injuries facility at Lydney Hospital as there is no A&E left at Chepstow Hospital, probably due to mismanagement of the budget by the idiotic EU regional National Ass. for Wales (so aptly abbreviated!).
As a result of this cross border facility and having known David Davies for many years I had a particular interest in the inquiry he chaired, on the subject, which has just been published:
End health confusion
Wednesday, 18 March 2015
•The inquiry into cross-border health arrangements was led by Monmouth MP David Davies.
HEALTH chiefs on both sides of the border need to do more to ensure thousands of patients in the Forest and Wye Valley get the care to which they are entitled, say MPs.
The Welsh Affairs Select Committee said it was “concerned” that many people are unaware that being registered with a GP based on the other side of the border could have affect on their care later.
The committee, chaired by Monmouth MP David Davies, spent some three months taking evidence from patient groups, health professionals and policy makers about the impact of cross-border health arrangements.
The report, published last Thursday, was welcomed by Forest-based campaign group Action4OurCare which has pressed for the right of patients living in England to be treated according to English NHS standards – although the group has concerns about how long it will take to implement the committee’s recommendations.
Some 20,000 people living in England – around half of whom live between Sedbury and Ross-on-Wye are patients of GPs registered in Wales.
Campaigners say they want to stay with their Welsh GPs but changes are needed to ensure English residents have all the rights to which they are entitled.
The select committee found many of them did not realise that were differences in policy on issues such as waiting times set by Department of Health in England and the Welsh Government.
Mr Davies said: “Since devolution there has been an increasing divergence between the healthcare systems of England and Wales.
“This can cause confusion for patients, particularly those who rely on healthcare facilities on either side of the border from where they live.
“During our inquiry we sought to bring clarity to a number of issues and to examine what services cross-border patients are entitled to receive.
“Our inquiry has not been concerned with the merits of the healthcare system in Wales, which is devolved the the Welsh Government, or England.
“Instead our report focused on areas where there was a need for essential and detailed systems of liaison to be in place to guarantee consistent cross-border co-ordination.”
Among its recommendations the committee called on the Department of Health and the Welsh Government to work with healthcare professionals, particularly GPs, to ensure that patients are better informed of the differences in healthcare policy between England and Wales.
“Patients must also be made aware of the impact of choosing a Welsh or English GP and the implications that might have for later care.”
The MPs also welcomed a commitment from Welsh health minister Mark Drakeford not to allow the border to become a barrier.
That will be of interest to people whose cases were highlighted by Action4OurCare such as the family of a boy from Tutshill who was forced to travel to Swansea instead of Bristol and the owner of a St Briavels art gallery who was denied specialist treatment in Bristol and was given an appointment in Wrexham.
Chair of Action4OurCare, Pam Plummer, said: “Many of the committee’s recommendations such as compatible IT systems, proper patient engagement and information about the differences between the services in Wales and England are eminently sensible and should be acted upon.
“However, given the time it has taken for the government to confirm the legal status quo, Action4OurCare remains concerned about how long it will now take to implement the practical changes necessary to ensure that all English residents can be treated equally.
“This fair and balanced report clearly acknowledges the underlying problems still faced by thousands of English residents up and down the Anglo/Welsh border who even now are being forced to wait longer for diagnostic tests, operations and have no access to the Cancer Drugs Fund.
“Never again can Gloucestershire-resident patients be forced by NHS Wales to go primarily into Wales for hospital treatment for purely financial reasons, which was reversed only after a public outcry led by Action4OurCare and never again can this injustice be swept under the carpet.”
To view the original of this article CLICK HERE
Cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales
Inquiry status: closed. Report published.
The Welsh Affairs Committee announces a short inquiry into Cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales, to follow-up its previous 2009 report on this matter.
Since the Committee last examined this issue, there has been increasing divergence between the healthcare systems of England and Wales, which has implications for patients in border areas who rely on healthcare facilities on the other side of the border.
In April 2013 the NHS Wales and NHS Commissioning Board England agreed a Protocol for Cross-border Healthcare Services (PDF 368KB) to ensure smooth and efficient interaction between the NHS on either side of the England-Wales border, but it is not clear how well this has been functioning to date.
The Silk Commission has also made recommendations to improve cross-border health delivery, and the Government is preparing its response.
The Committee is also conducting a web forum to hear the experiences of patients who rely on services on the other side of the border and the views of medical professionals and social care practitioners.
| Welsh Affairs – Third Report Cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales |
Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee.
The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 10 March 2015.
| Contents Terms of Reference |
2 Cross-border health services
Devolution and policy divergence
Structure of the NHS in England
Compatibility of the Cross Border Protocol and NHS Constitution
6 Cross-border engagement and coordination
Cross-border patient engagement
Conclusions and recommendations
Annex: Summary of public events in Newtown and Hereford
List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament
You can also read the full report if you CLICK HERE
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STROAT - Gloucestershire - Forest of Dean 