As an Assembly Member serving constituents for whom accessing specific services across the border is the norm, I welcome this debate and the opportunity to be able to briefly contribute. I have already raised many times in this Chamber how the north-east of Wales is economically and culturally connected to the north-west of England, and the border assists as a two-way path to prosperity, as opposed to a somewhat artificial barrier. Indeed, there should also be no such barrier when it comes to accessing specialist secondary services. For those living in parts of north Wales, accessing specialist services in the north-west is a standard practice that predates devolution. I, like many of those living in Delyn and across north-east Wales, have experienced this at first hand and seek the same as everyone else for my nearest and dearest, that is, ensuring the best possible specialist treatment as close to home as possible, whether that be heart surgery at Broadgreen Hospital in Liverpool, or cancer treatment at Clatterbridge hospital on the Wirral. I welcome the cross-border protocols put in place by the Welsh Government for the treatment of patients who have been referred across the border, but the challenge is actually how they are followed and implemented to best effect on the ground, on a day-in, day-out basis, and of course to make sure that any Wales-domiciled patients receiving treatment in the NHS in England are treated no less favourably than their England-dwelling counterparts.

From the correspondence and conversations that I have had with constituents, it seems that better communication with users of cross-border health services at a primary care level is key, even at the basic level of people understanding why they are being referred for specific treatment across the border. By taking steps to build on the work of the Welsh Government in respect of cross-border healthcare, and by actually working together at all levels, we can and must ensure the provision of the best possible high-quality care for patients who access cross-border health services.