Liberal Democrats accuse Labour of putting budgets before patients in cross-border NHS system

Amelia Jones 

The Liberal Democrats have criticised UK and Welsh Labour governments after they say waiting times have doubled due a new cross-border healthcare policy.

The criticisms come after they raised serious concerns in the House of Commons last week.

Under the policy, patients from Powys who need treatment at English hospitals such as Shrewsbury, Telford, Oswestry and Hereford are facing significant delays.

The Liberal Democrats argue that the changes mean patients are now being prioritised based on cost rather than clinical need.

Speaking during the debate, Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, Helen Morgan MP, raised concerns about the way Powys Teaching Health Board is handling referrals for patients requiring specialist treatment in England.

She warned that patients are effectively being ranked by whether Powys Health Board is willing to pay for their treatment within a particular financial year, rather than how urgently they need care.

It was also said that the approach was creating major problems for specialists providers such as Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital and the associated Headley Court Veterans’ Centre, which serve large numbers of patients from Powys.

Helen Morgan MP said: “This is completely backwards. Patients are being treated like line items on a spreadsheet, not people who need care. If a hospital is ready to treat someone based on clinical need, politicians and health boards should not be standing in the way because of budget games.

“Labour can talk about ‘partnership’ all it likes, but this policy is causing chaos for both patients and hospitals and it urgently needs to be dropped.”

Cllr Glyn Preston, Welsh Liberal Democrat Senedd Candidate for Montgomeryshire, added: “People in Montgomeryshire are fed up with a system that treats them as an inconvenience just because they live near the border. Labour has run the Welsh NHS for a generation, yet patients are still being bounced around while governments argue over who pays the bill.

“Healthcare should be about need, not postcode or politics. Labour Ministers in Cardiff Bay have been completely silent on this issue and if I’m elected to the Senedd later this year, making sure this discriminatory policy is scrapped will be my number one priority.”

In response to the concerns raised, Labour Wales Office Minister Anna McMorrin insisted that Labour governments were “working in partnership” to ensure cross-border arrangements were fair and transparent.

The Liberal Democrats have branded this claim as deeply out of touch with the reality facing patients and clinicians, arguing that the policy has already caused chaos across the border region.

When asked for further comment, the Welsh Government said: “We are committed to reducing waiting times and ensuring everyone in Wales – including those in Powys – has equitable and timely access to treatment. This has been supported by an additional £120m which included new funding for Powys Teaching Health Board.

 “We have been clear that all NHS Wales organisations must plan and deliver services for their population in line with Welsh Government targets and within the financial and staffing resources available.”

The UK Government was also asked for comment.