HEALTH Secretary Jeremy Hunt has promised Wye Valley residents a solution by the end of the year to the bureaucratic nightmare which means they are denied treatment in England despite living east of the Wye.
Mr Hunt's pledge in the Commons came just days before the plight of a woman from Llandogo, who wants to continue treatment in England for a pancreatic disorder, was raised at Prime Minister's Questions.
During a House of Commons debate on the Francis Report into the Mid Staffordshire Hospital scandal, Forest MP Mark Harper pointed out that people who are seen at surgeries in England are forced to use the Welsh NHS because their GPs are registered in Wales,
Mr Harper asked Mr Hunt: "Can my Right Honourable Friend say anything to reassure my constituents that they will soon be entitled to treatment in England, as is their legal right?"
Mr Hunt replied: "I am concerned about that on a number of levels, but I can reassure my Honourable Friend that I have taken on board that point, which he has raised with me privately, and I will look into it.
"I have asked for a solution to be found soon, and certainly before the end of the year, so that his constituents can have that long-standing problem addressed."
Campaign group Action4OurCare has given a cautious welcome to Mr Hunt's statement after earlier promises of action went nowhere.
Action4Our Care spokesman, Pam Plummer, says: "Whilst we are encouraged by the Secretary of State's commitment to find a solution soon, we fear this may amount to another nine months waiting for yet another broken promise.
"Meanwhile, English residents up and down the Welsh border have no choice, no voice and are left waiting in No Man's Land."
Action4OurCare says that "promises made but not kept" include a commitment last September to investigate how this came about, assurances from the Minister responsible that those affected "will receive the healthcare that they are entitled to expect", a statement on the solution was to have been made in the House last autumn by the then Minister of Public Health, and a meeting early this year to discuss a report by NHS England.
Mr Harper also raised the issue earlier in the week in a meeting with public health minister Jane Ellison MP.
Following the debate Mr Harper said: "Given that standards in the Welsh NHS are falling, and are worse than seen in England, we need action to fix this problem.
"I have been working on this issue for some time, and recently met once again with the Minister for Public Health to discuss the matter and try to find a solution.
"I am glad that the Secretary of State recognises the problem, shares my concerns, and has committed to solve this long-standing issue soon – at the latest by the end of the year."
The case of Mariana Robinson – who lives in Llandogo and has an art gallery in St Briavels – was raised with Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at Prime Minister's Questions by Monmouth MP David Davies.
Mr Clegg said he was "appalled" that Ms Robinson had been refused permission to continue treatment for a withered pancreas in Bristol and had instead been placed on a Welsh NHS waiting list.