Here's the update I posted on my petition.
If any of you haven't signed it yet, please do.
"I thought it was time I provided an update on the progress of our campaign.
As it turns out the Review of my application for IPFR (funding for an out of area referral) that was rejected, is not a review of the decision itself but a procedure to ensure that the correct guidelines and protocol were followed in making that decision. So the refusal of funding for me still stands. It’s very disappointing to say the least that despite my Lupus Specialist’s request that I am referred to his NHS list in England for further required investigations before my medication can be reduced and despite his letter of support, this is not allowed to happen. It’s very disappointing but to be expected.
The IPFR/Referral Management Team have clarified the system further for me. You have to prove that you have exhausted all local options, this includes all the Consultant Rheumatologists in the Hywel Dda UHB area, so at Withybush General Hospital, Glangwili Hospital in Carmarthen and the Prince Phillip Hospital in Llanelli, of which there are 5 Consultants currently employed.
Additionally there are Rheumatology Consultants within Wales to whom those 5 consultants can make tertiary referrals when deemed appropriate. So once you have exhausted those 5, (none of which are lupus experts), you can then look outside of Hywel Dda UHB. But even then, it’s a referral to Rheumatology in the next Health Board catchment, i.e. Swansea (Abertawe Bro Morgannwg UHB). You would then have to get that Consultant to agree to a referral to England, if they thought it was necessary. So that would be 6 referrals in total to Consultant in Wales, before they would consider you being referred to outside of Wales.
Only when all services within Wales have been exhausted will they consider referrals to England.
But England is where all of the Lupus UK Lupus Centres of Excellence are.
I know this is long winded, but I wanted to demonstrate how difficult it is to get a referral out of area out of Wales, to those Centres of Excellence in England, for Lupus patients in Pembrokeshire.
We are chronically ill, suffering life limiting symptoms every day and we are expected to jump through numerous hoops and deal with all of this bureaucracy, before accessing the best doctors for our rare autoimmune illness. The current average waiting list for a first appointment with a Consultant is approximately 4 months, so if you were expected to see those 6 Consultants, to exhaust all local options, this process could take years. (If you can get them to agree to the referrals in the first place.)
In England, lupus patients can request a referral from their GP to a specific doctor at a specific hospital, it’s their choice. They have that right. So they can pick as close to home as they want or as far as they want. If their first choice doesn’t work out, they can then pick a lupus doctor elsewhere.
So is this system fair for us in Pembrokeshire and Wales as a whole? No it is not.
Cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales were a focus of the
House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee in 2015. A key recommendation of this
committee was that England and Wales need to maintain close links to ensure that
patients receive the treatment they need, regardless of their country of residence.
The then Minister for Health in Wales, Mark Drakeford, stated that patient needs must
come first and made a commitment not to allow the border to become a barrier. This
commitment is not being met for us in Pembrokeshire. There is a huge barrier to us getting out of Hywel Dda UHB alone and then we are referred to the neighbouring University Health Board.
There are serious borders & barriers in place preventing us lupus patients being able to access quality, specialised care.
Please keep sharing the petition with your friends, family and work colleagues.
This situation is not fair or just and must be addressed as soon as possible.
Thank you for listening.
Wendy
"