Letter: Anger over Welsh attitude to A&E unit in English hospital

I must say that I became very angry when I read the article "Warning of lost lives if A & E unit is moved", Shropshire Star, August 26.

In this article

Mrs Joy Jones, a Powys County Councillor, says that if the English NHS decides to replace the two A & E units with just one in Shropshire that it should be located in Shrewsbury as this is the more central of the two alternative sites

Shrewsbury is located on the western edge of Shropshire, whilst I live in Shropshire in a rapidly expanding market town on the eastern edge.

Her very reasoning is that it is better that I have to travel an extra 20 minutes to our A&E department than it is for the people who live in Wales.

I would remind Mrs Jones that Wales is a separate country with their own "better funded" health service. This is borne out by the much publicised procedures and drugs which are available to the Welsh but not available to the English. They also do not charge for parking at their hospitals.

I would suggest, rather than asking that the English NHS give preference to patients from a different country over their own, she takes up the matter with the Welsh Assembly to provide suitable facilities in the area in question.

I have no objection to our NHS treating patients from Wales as long as they are charged for it. The idea however that she wants me to travel and additional 20 minutes to our A&E unit situated on the opposite side of Shropshire so the unit can be closer to people in another country leaves me very angry.

As the heading says "Lives lost if A & E unit is moved", and to me it is more important that the English NHS puts its own customers first.

The people in Wales wanted their own Assembly to make their own decisions with their own budgets but still want to have a say in what happens in England. You cannot expect to have the best of both worlds. I suggest that you sort out your own NHS.

Graham Burns, Newport