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Delays plan for Welsh patients in England scrapped

Mari Grug
BBC News
Getty Images Surgical scene - two doctors in scrubs at the forefront. There is a third person at the back in scrubs looking at a computer. Getty Images
Some residents in Powys receive treatment in England

Plans by a Welsh health board to ask the NHS in England to delay the care it gives to patients living in Wales to save money have been scrapped.

Powys Teaching Health Board voted unanimously in favour of a recommendation to not implement the changes, as it tries to resolve a £10m budged deficit.

There was strong opposition to the plan, which would have seen hospital waiting times extended by up to 11 weeks or longer for people living in Powys needing cross-border care.

The Welsh government previously said it wants all patients to be seen within 104 weeks by March.

Wales saw record waiting times published in October, with the list passing the 800,000 mark for the first time.

Part of the Welsh government's plans to tackle those waiting times involves more treatment from across the border with England.

The U-turn by the health board comes after officials looked at the potential impact on an elderly population, those awaiting treatment who are unable to work and increased pressures on carers.

Many patients living in Powys receive treatment from NHS England because they live close to the border and the county does not have a district general hospital.

The practice can be costly for the health board.

Picture of Llanidloes Community Hospital
Powys has sites such as Llanidloes Community Hospital - but no general hospital, meaning patients sometimes have to travel to England to be treated

At an extraordinary meeting in January, the health board said it needed more information on the impact of the proposal before making a final decision.

It decided to abort the scheme at a meeting on Wednesday, noting that further discussions are needed to try and avoid a similar financial situation for 2025-2026.

A freeze on staff recruitment within some vacancies and the limit on agency and locum usage continues.

Chief executive Hayley Thomas said during the meeting that early discussions with the Welsh government were under way “to assess our current and future commissioning process” during a time when the health board is “in a serious financial situation.”