Hereford and South Herefordshire MP Jesse Norman has welcomed the Aneurin Bevan Health Board's announced changes which should make it easier for local people to use the hospital of their choice. He joined local campaigner Patti Fender at Hereford Hospital to celebrate the decision.

Parliamentary questions tabled by Jesse earlier this year revealed that there are over 20,000 people living in England who are registered with GP practices in Wales. In Herefordshire alone, over 3,500 people are registered with Welsh GPs. The Aneurin Bevan Health Board, who are responsible for healthcare in Monmouthshire and South Wales, adopted a policy in September 2012 which attempted to keep these patients in Welsh hospitals wherever possible – denying them their choice to come to hospitals in England.

This policy has also had a seriously negative effect on the finances of Hereford Hospital, for which Jesse has been campaigning in relation to the PFI and the health funding formula since 2010.

Jesse threw a national spotlight on the lack of equal access, and the wider Welsh Government policy towards English patients who have been forced to register with GPs in Wales, in a debate in Parliament, which he secured in June. Following the debate, the public health minister, Anna Soubry, announced that she was ordering a review of access to NHS services for English people living near the border.

In a board meeting on July 24th, the Aneurin Bevan Health Board resolved to allow English residents registered with a Welsh GP to access hospitals in England without prior approval – effectively returning to their policy before September 2012. They have also agreed to work with GPs and health commissioners along the border to improve access in the longer term.

Jesse said: "This is a really positive first step. The Aneurin Bevan Health Board have recognised the public concern about their unfair policy, and have agreed that it needs to change.

"However, this is only a partial victory. My next target is the wider cross border agreement between NHS England and NHS Wales, which disadvantages Hereford County Hospital and does not adequately secure people's right to healthcare."