is this what independence means for Scotland and Wales?

The poblem in Wales is excessively long waiting lists, far longer than in other parts of the UK. If they were not so long they would not need to consider using hospitals in England. public or private whether encouraged to or not.

In leafy Oxfordshire, we live 15 miles from our local hospital and others live 25 miles away or more.

I have to take DH whenever he has a hospital appointment because the parking I use is too far from the hospital for him to walk and is uphill all the way back and, as I said, parking on site is impossible unless we are there at about 7.00am, regardless of what time his appointment is.

He hates the unnecessary dependence on me, and it means that I too have to spend half a day at the hospital doing nothing.

Some patients in the catchment area for one hospital in north Wales travel 60 miles for treatment! The car park has been extended, but this means parking even further away from the hospital buildings, not a good option for the young/elderly/infirm.

There is very limited parking near A&E. the consequence is that some cars are parked on pavements, grass verges etc, creating hazards for the less able. The car park is blocked constantly by cars driving round and round looking for a space. Patients who arrive alone for consultations/treatments do not have the luxury of being dropped off near an entrance. But hey-ho parking is free.

It is interesting though that the junior doctors in Wales and Scotland have not been on strike, whereas, the strikes in England have increased the waiting lists by several hundred thousand with each strike. I'd be interested to know how much it has actually cost NHS England in locum services to maintain essential basic services to cover the strikes.

Grantanow

I think Barclay was suggesting Scots and Welsh patients could use English private hospitals, not NHS ones. Of course, it's a Tory diversion from the overall waiting lists problem to draw attention to alleged NHS underperformance in the devolved countries. Barclay needs to do his job and solve the NHS crisis.

They already do that Grantanow, private hospitals are commissioned to do waiting list backlog work by Welsh government anyway? I don’t think he’d thought it through at all, just politicking.

I think Barclay was suggesting Scots and Welsh patients could use English private hospitals, not NHS ones. Of course, it's a Tory diversion from the overall waiting lists problem to draw attention to alleged NHS underperformance in the devolved countries. Barclay needs to do his job and solve the NHS crisis.

M0nica

What is hospital parking? When I go to my local hospital I park in a public car park half a mile away and walk because you can drive around the car parking area around the hospital for over an hour and not find a space. I have done that several times.

What is more everyone else I know does this as well for the same reasons.

Much the same here. I used to be a volunteer driver, taking patients who couldn’t use public transport to appts., and more than once I was unable to find even a blue badge space. Just had to stop near the entrance and accompany the person in, since she couldn’t manage on her own.

Parking was once free at our hospital, but the railway station is not far away, so of course the parking was very much abused.
For me and dh, luckily it’s walking distance, which is fine as long as we’re fit and mobile - 🤞.

It depends where you live in Wales Cheeseplantmad. There is a lot of cross border flow in mid Wales, to Shropshire and Herefefordshire because there are no district general hospitals in mid Wales.

Casdon

Steve Barclay tried and failed to do some political point scoring I think. If only they would do their homework first. I expect he will claim soon that English hospitals have reduced waiting lists in Wales but forget to mention that those Welsh patients routinely receive their healthcare in England anyway because it’s their nearest hospital.

welsh patients routinely receive their healthcare in England because it’s their nearest hospital I live in Wales and that’s not the case , there are five major hospitals within a 25 mile radius as to where I live .

Steve Barclay tried and failed to do some political point scoring I think. If only they would do their homework first. I expect he will claim soon that English hospitals have reduced waiting lists in Wales but forget to mention that those Welsh patients routinely receive their healthcare in England anyway because it’s their nearest hospital.

I don’t understand the question.

There have been no doctors strikes in Wales and Scotland has made an offer to the junior doctors of 12.5% which has been accepted without any strikes (I think). They are also on different contracts and generally happier or so I believe. My niece works in a Welsh hospital and can park there foc.

What is hospital parking? When I go to my local hospital I park in a public car park half a mile away and walk because you can drive around the car parking area around the hospital for over an hour and not find a space. I have done that several times.

What is more everyone else I know does this as well for the same reasons.