Patients on Welsh border warned of longer waits for care through NHS

Dr Julie Davies, of Shropshire Clinical Commissioning Group, was giving evidence to a Commons committee on cross border health services.

She said she was worried that patients living in Shropshire may not realise they could face longer waits if they go to a Welsh hospital.

She told MPs: "Where it's a Shropshire GP who is referring a patient to the Wrexham Maelor we do ask that the GP informs the patient they will be treated under different waiting times and make them aware of that. So that in effect they are making that informed decision.

"However if anyone does challenge us in terms of why their rights are not being met at the moment we wouldn't have a satisfactory answer for that."

It comes after a health study found that patients are moving from Mid Wales to Shropshire in a bid to get better health treatment.

Concerns have been raised in the Mid Wales Health Study that people living in the Welshpool area are so concerned about treatment for patients from Wales at English hospitals that they have moved.

The study found that people in Montgomeryshire are concerned they will be denied access to certain treatments and medication if they are living in Wales but treated at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital or Princess Royal Hospital, Telford.

Robert Robinson, Welshpool Town Council clerk, also told a panel of helath experts

said: "There were some people who had moved to Shropshire because they were worried about the effect of them coming from Wales.

"In fact one of the bigger concerns was people from Wales getting denied access to certain treatments because of what side of the border they live on."

Adrian Osborne, communications director for the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospitals NHS Trust, added

: "I think we need to lobby our councillors and politicians to make their voices heard when it comes to different treatment across borders."