Saltney Ferry residents unable to register with a GP, Senedd told
Residents in Saltney Ferry are unable to register with a GP and are crossing the border into England to access primary care, a north Wales MS has told the Senedd.
Sam Rowlands MS, who represents Fflint Wrecsam for the Welsh Conservatives, raised the issue during a Senedd debate on hospital services and hospital closures on Tuesday.
Mr Rowlands said he had been contacted by constituents on Ewart Street and North Street in Saltney Ferry who cannot find a GP practice willing to accept them because they fall outside local catchment boundaries.
He told the Senedd: “I have a group of residents in Saltney Ferry who can’t even register with a GP, they’re not covered by a GP practice. It’s a strange anomaly. Many of those in that community are now having to access primary care in England because that availability is not there for them here in Wales. What we then see, if people can’t access their GP, is that they’re ending up at the A&E departments. They’ve got nowhere else to go.”
Mr Rowlands said he first heard from affected residents in 2024 and raised the matter with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board at the time. He said he understood the issue had been resolved, but that constituents are still struggling to find a doctor two years on.
Mr Rowlands said: “It is very sad and worrying situation for people who are experiencing difficulties registering with what should be their local doctor’s practice because they don’t fall in a GP’s catchment area. It is simply not acceptable that people living in Wales find themselves having to access primary care across the border in England.”
Saltney Ferry sits on the Wales-England border in Flintshire, immediately west of Chester. Its position means some residents fall into an administrative gap between Welsh and English NHS GP registration boundaries.
Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board has been in special measures since 2015. Mr Rowlands said that despite the professionalism of staff, people across north Wales have faced years of pressure on services and difficulty accessing care.
The Welsh Government did not respond to the specific Saltney Ferry point during Tuesday’s debate. No minister addressed GP registration gaps in the border area.
Mr Rowlands said:”It is simply not acceptable that people living in Wales find themselves having to access primary care across the border in England.”
Check live fuel prices near you before you set off.
Spotted something? Got a story? Email news (@) deeside.com
NEW: Add Deeside.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
Latest News
