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Welsh patients may wait longer for care in England

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

A Welsh health board may ask the NHS in England to delay the care it gives to patients living in Wales to save money.

It means hospital waiting times could be extended by up to 11 weeks or longer for people in Powys, where some patients receive treatment from NHS England, because the county is close to the border between the two countries.

Powys Teaching Health Board said if the changes happened, they would not breach NHS Wales waiting times standards and "exceptional action is needed" to deliver savings.

The Welsh government wants all patients to be seen within 104 weeks by March 2025.

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.

Some cross-border services are provided to Powys patients by Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital, Shrewsbury and Telford NHS Trust, and Wye Valley NHS Trust.

However, as the Powys health board considers "an exceptional action" to deliver almost £10m in savings, it is in discussions with NHS England to implement delays.

It means those living in Powys who receive treatment from hospitals in England could deliberately be made to wait longer for care.

In addition to a possible increased wait for treatment, Powys has also introduced a freeze on recruitment and agency spending.

Marina Bowles Marina Bowles, who has blonde hair and a pink jumper, looking at the cameraMarina Bowles
Marina Bowles says she is not sure if she really wants to live in Wales if this is how it treats patients

Marina Bowles, from Rhayader, has arthritis and is registered blind, and has always travelled to England to receive treatment.

"I recently waited over a year for an operation and these proposed changes would mean an even longer wait for people like me - which has a huge effect when you are in pain daily," she said.

"They've said at the Senedd that they're hoping to get waiting lists down by sending people over the border to England. These plans in Powys go against that."

Ms Bowles, who was a nurse in the county before she retired, said: "Powys isn't the place to get old. It's a forgotten county.

"There is a higher elderly population here and there's no consideration to that in terms of budget planning."

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 a meeting on Friday, several scenarios will be considered by the health board, which could lead to some waiting times for operations and outpatient appointments being between five and 11 weeks longer.

Cancer patients, people on "other urgent elective pathways", and children would be excluded from the plans.

Powys has an older population than the all-Wales average, resulting in both higher and increasing care costs.

A spokesperson for Powys Teaching Health Board said: "Exceptional action is needed to deliver a further £9.9m savings so that we can achieve the financial targets with Welsh government."

It added that the proposed changes would be considered at a public meeting held by the health board on Friday.