James Evans has asked the First Minister whether Welsh NHS patients could be referred to alternative locations around Wales or England in order to ease waiting lists.

The Brecon and Radnorshire MS asked the First Minister, Eluned Morgan in the Senedd yesterday what is being done to improve access to healthcare in his constituency.

He told the First Minister: “With a number of people waiting for appointments across Wales, especially for operations, they have a system in England where, if you've been waiting for a certain amount of time, they will offer you to go to other health boards across England to actually get that treatment done, especially in orthopaedics.

“So, in Hereford, for example, there are long waiting times for orthopaedic treatment, but they are sending patients to other hospitals across England to get waiting lists down and get people seen.”

Mr Evans asked the First Minister whether this is something the Welsh Government would look at doing.

The First Minister said that health boards are responsible for the planning and delivery of “safe, high-quality healthcare services” on behalf of their local populations within the resources available.

Ms Morgan also told Mr Evans that cross-border care is “already happening.”

In relation to GPs, the First Minister said: “There are 13,000 residents from Wales registered in England, but there are 21,000 English residents registered in Wales.

“And when you look at the number of people who are going into hospitals already in England, 60,700 just last year were involved in admission to an NHS English hospital.

“So, it is already happening, and we will continue to see if and when there's capacity.”

Ms Morgan said she wanted to “maximise and see an efficient system in Wales first.”

“At the moment, we are focusing on making sure that we use the capacity that's available within our system, and making sure that we expand the opportunities for that to happen, with longer hours being used, for example, in Wales, rather than going across the border,” she told Mr Evans.

Speaking after the Senedd session, Mr Evans said: “With over 23,000 patients currently waiting for an appointment or treatment for more than two years across Wales compared to England where it’s 107, it’s about time the Welsh Government looked towards offering patients in Wales the opportunity to cross the border into England to get the treatment they need in a reasonable time.

“The Welsh NHS need to end the postcode lottery of people, particularly my constituents, potentially not getting seen in their own country when there could be spare capacity in the system in England which could be utilised.

“The First Minister’s answer did not provide me with any confidence, but it’s unsurprising given Welsh Labour’s poor record of running the NHS in Wales over the last 25 years.”