Healthcare policy divergence must not hinder cross-border service

• Report: Cross-border health arrangements in England and Wales
• Report: Cross-border health arrangements in England and Wales (PDF 734KB)
• Inquiry: Cross-border health arrangements in England and Wales
• Welsh Affairs Committee

The border between England and Wales is long and porous, and as a result cross-border movements have been a fact of life for many years, including for healthcare. Since devolution, there has been increasing divergence between the healthcare systems of England and Wales, which can cause confusion.

Conclusions

The Committee concludes: 

• Healthcare providers in England and Wales must maintain close links to ensure that patients receive the treatment they need regardless of their country of residence, particularly given the policy divergence that has emerged since devolution.
• DoH and the Welsh Government should work together with medical practitioners, particularly at a GP level, to ensure patients are better informed of the differences in health 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 this might have for later care.
• The UK and Welsh Governments should work together to examine how improvements can be made in the electronic transfer of information between Wales and England.
• The Department of Health (DoH) should work with counterparts in the devolved administrations to establish a single Performers List for GPs across the UK.
• NHS England and NHS Wales must work together to improve patient engagement for cross-border services.
• There is a worrying lack of communication regarding changes to healthcare services which could have an impact across the border. Formal protocols should be put in place to ensure consultation between LHBs and CCGs when changes to services impact on populations across the border.

Chair's comments

David TC Davies, chair of the Committee said:

"The inquiry was not about the merits of the devolved healthcare system in Wales, or in England. We focused on areas where there is need for essential and detailed systems of liaison to guarantee consistent cross-border co-ordination. Our major finding is that there is simply not enough information provided to patients about the impact of differences in health policy on those who rely on healthcare facilities on either side of the border, or about the impact those differences can have on patients’ healthcare choices.

We want to see far better co-ordination and information sharing between the English and Welsh healthcare services, to ensure that patients receive the same high quality healthcare that they need regardless of where they live."

Further information

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