Today, the Welsh Select Committee’s inquiry into the cross-border provision of public services got under way with an evidence session attended by the Bishops of Hereford and Monmouth. Both are erudite men with medical backgrounds and a highly developed social ethos.
The general thrust of what they told us was that patients in the border areas and beyond were suffering as a consequence of both funding and political disparities between England and Wales. As the Bishop of Monmouth, with clerical understatement, put it: “The WAG policy to provide all services from within Wales can run counter to its policy of putting patients first.”
The extent to which common sense is eclipsed by dogma in Cardiff Bay is illustrated by the following extract from the Bishop’s submission to the committee:
“Another example of where policy appears to come before patients’ interests is that clergy and their families in Wales can no longer use St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy in London because Wales will not pay for any tests that need to be carried out in London but only for tests carried out in Wales. St Luke’s is a charity hospital that does not charge fees and the consultants give their services free of charge. The use of St Luke’s Hospital would save Wales about £300,000 a year and free up beds, because St Luke’s would not charge Wales for consultations, surgery or hospitalisation, but only for tests.”
This is a lunatic state of affairs, but it no doubt makes perfect sense to the Welsh health minister, Edwina Hart.
The general thrust of what they told us was that patients in the border areas and beyond were suffering as a consequence of both funding and political disparities between England and Wales. As the Bishop of Monmouth, with clerical understatement, put it: “The WAG policy to provide all services from within Wales can run counter to its policy of putting patients first.”
The extent to which common sense is eclipsed by dogma in Cardiff Bay is illustrated by the following extract from the Bishop’s submission to the committee:
“Another example of where policy appears to come before patients’ interests is that clergy and their families in Wales can no longer use St Luke’s Hospital for the Clergy in London because Wales will not pay for any tests that need to be carried out in London but only for tests carried out in Wales. St Luke’s is a charity hospital that does not charge fees and the consultants give their services free of charge. The use of St Luke’s Hospital would save Wales about £300,000 a year and free up beds, because St Luke’s would not charge Wales for consultations, surgery or hospitalisation, but only for tests.”
This is a lunatic state of affairs, but it no doubt makes perfect sense to the Welsh health minister, Edwina Hart.
2 comments:
http://thoughtsofoscar.blogspot.com/2008/03/straight-from-horses-mouth.html
Interesting post by Oscar "what's his name"
Enough said.One only has to look and hear Edwina Hart on television to realise what second rate politicians there are in W.A.G.It makes me despair.I am not a political amimal and thank God we do have good M P's to represent us in Parliament
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