A FIVE-year campaign to ensure thousands of NHS patients on the English side of the Wye have the same rights as others in England has achieved its aim with the signing of a top-level agreement.

People living along the border in communities such as Sedbury and Tutshill whose doctors are registered in Wales have the choice to be treated by the NHS in England or to waive that right and receive hospital treatment in Wales.

Campaigners have stressed Gloucestershire patients are happy with their GPs but want to be treated the same as others in England.

A new Statement of Values and Principles (SVP) has been signed by the Welsh and English health services recognising the rights of patients east of the Wye all along the border.

A Forest-based campaign group, Action4OurCare, has been at the forefront of calls to give affected patients a choice – and it has been praised by a health minister for its work.

Pam Plummer, of Action for Our Care, said: “The SVP allows 8,000 patients living in Gloucestershire and with a GP under contract to NHS Wales to exercise their legal right under the NHS Constitution by being referred to a provider under contract with NHS England or to elect to receive treatment in Wales, waiving those rights and accepting Welsh standards.”

The SVP has been signed by all the relevant ministers and was laid before the Commons and Lords on Monday, November 12 with a written statement by health minister Lord O’Shaughnessy.

It replaced a “protocol” between the Department of Health and the Welsh Government which was revised in 2013 – and later found to be incompatible with English law.

In the statement, the minister said: “While delivery of healthcare across the border between England and Wales is collaborative and high-quality, the government is aware of the problems a significant number of patients living along the Welsh-English border have faced for a number of years in accessing healthcare in accordance with their rights under the NHS Constitution.

“The government is pleased that the process for producing the new Statement has been collaborative across the border and has involved affected stakeholders to ensure it is acceptable and appropriate.

“We note the diligence by which constituency MPs, especially Mark Harper, have sought a solution and also commend the work by Action4OurCare to reach a way forward.. We hope this Statement of Values and Principles provides a long-term resolution.”

The minister added: “The new Statement will replace the existing cross-border protocol which was established in 2005 and

revised in 2013.

“This protocol outlined the process for residents living along the Welsh-English border in accessing healthcare and which bodies were legally and financially responsible for these patients.

“Soon after the publication it was realised that the protocol did not comply with English law in that it did not safeguard the constitutional rights of English residents living along the border and registered with Welsh GPs; those residents were unable to exercise their rights to English standards in terms of waiting times for treatment and choice of secondary care provider.

“Since then, extensive work has been conducted on both sides of the border to ensure this is possible.

Lord O’Shaughnessy also wrote directly to Mrs Plummer praising Action4OurCare for its part in developing a solution which makes it easier for patients to understand and navigate the system.

He said: “I would like to commend you and the other members of Action4OurCare for your commitment to ensuring that English residents’ rights under the NHS Constitiution are upheld when accessing healthcare in Wales.

“I would also like to thank you for your involvement in designing and developing the new system that is now in place and working effectively, ensuring that accessing healthcare across the border is easier for patients to understand and navigate.

“This new system has now been in place for around 18 months and I am pleased, and I hope you are too, that it seems to be working effectively.”

The system will be monitored for a year at the end of which an evaluation will be carried out with input from Action4OurCare.

Mrs Plummer said: “It has taken five years and three months – it has been about reliance and hanging on in there.”