Thursday 10 July 2008

Hold the front page

As headlines go, it's probably not going to make it onto anyone's front page.

"WELSH-ENGLISH BORDER MUST NOT HINDER ACCESS TO HIGH QUALITY HEALTH SERVICES, SAY MPS" is today's offering from Parliament's Welsh affairs select committee.

Does anyone know any politician in any party who thinks the border should hinder access to high quality health services?

The bland, some might say bleedin' obvious, headline from the committee's press release relates to an interim report on services across the Wales/England border.

The committee heard evidence that Welsh patients wait longer than English patients for identical treatment in the same hospitals. The Welsh Health Minister has so far declined an invitation to give evidence.

The report was agreed unanimously by MPs from all parties, although they are drawing very different conclusions from its conclusions.

The Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives both believe it exposes the folly of the "Wales-only" approach of the Labour/Plaid Cymru Welsh Assembly Government - not an analysis shared by the Labour and Plaid members of the committee.

The MPs expect to file a fuller report later this year.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did you know Christopher Glamorganshire? What's the gossip?

David Cornock said...

I don't, sorry - he worked in Assembly Government offices in Cardiff. I'm in Westminster and don't get out much......I think Glyn Davies has been blogging on it.

Anonymous said...

The Tories and Liberals are still alive in Westminster? They seem to have disappeared in the Assembly!

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know any politician in any party who thinks the border should hinder access to high quality health services?

Yes. Edwina Hart.