ALYN and Deeside MP Mark Tami has requested urgent Government attention to the Countess of Chester Hospital issue.

The Countess of Chester recently announced it would no longer be admitting patients from Wales for elective surgery.

The decision stems down to the allocation of funding and different tariffs charged for operations in Welsh and English hospitals.

Mark Tami MP has continuously raised his concerns about the decision and has called for a resolution to be resolved urgently.

He has been in dialogue with relevant ministers in both the Welsh and UK Government.

Over the weekend he wrote to Baroness Blackwood, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care, asking for a full response as to what action has been taken already and when her Department expects the issue to be resolved.

Mr Tami said: “The situation has been absurd and constituents are quite rightly concerned.

"While this will not affect A&E or patients already being treated it is still totally unacceptable.

“A fair resolution that obviously involves the Countess being paid on time for the treatment they do on Welsh patients, but is in line with what the Welsh Government pays its Welsh hospitals and the other hospitals that are close to the border, needs to be found.

“I have asked Baroness Blackwood for an update and I have stressed the urgency of getting this issue resolved as soon as possible.

“It is not fair that the people of Flintshire are being treated as they are. I will continue to work with all parties until a resolution is found.”

Following Mr Tami's letter, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesman told the Leader: "We are aware of this issue and have been working with national and local NHS teams to see it resolved.

"We expect all commissioners to cover the costs of their patients wherever they are treated and for an agreement to be reached imminently so normal services can resume for local residents."