Monmouth MP David Davies is to lead a parliamentary inquiry into cross-border health arrangements between England and Wales. The Welsh Affairs Committee, which Mr Davies chairs, will examine the workings of the NHS for patients who rely on healthcare facilities on the other side of the border. It will also look at arrangements for sharing services between local health boards and foundation trusts, as well as the impact of having different policies in England and Wales. The short inquiry is a follow-up to the committee's previous report on this matter in 2009. "Many people are only just beginning to realise that the health service is no longer national," said Mr Davies. "Instead, we have regional systems in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland where there are huge differences in what is on offer. "For example, we get free prescriptions in Wales but there is no access to a Cancer Drugs Fund and target waiting times are longer. "Local people in Monmouthshire who were receiving treatment in English hospitals are no longer allowed to do so except in exceptional clinical circumstances. "These issues are a cause of grave concern, especially in border counties like Monmouthshire, and we want to hear from those effected." The Welsh Affairs Committee is planning to hold a public meeting to hear from those with direct experience of cross-border healthcare. People can also submit their thoughts by letter or email. The deadline for written submissions is 12pm on Wednesday, 20th August. Further information, including details of how to submit evidence, is available on the committee's website at http://www.parliament.uk">www.parliament.uk • Campaigners from Usk, including cancer patient Ann Wilkinson, mentioned in the Beacon in June, have gained support from their German counterparts after a twinning visit in recent weeks. German visitors from Graben-Neudorf were interested in Ann's case as she has long been a supporter of the twinning effort. Usk cancer drug campaigner Julie McGowan said: "Visitors heard about her dilemma in having been refused funding for Avastin, and went back and told the Town Mayor. "He was amazed that our much-vaunted national health service refuses to help these desperate patients, so he set up a petition in Graben-Neudorf, which will be sent to Mark Drakeford at the Senedd. "A number of Graben-Neudorf residents have also signed and made comments on the cancer drugs for wales site http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cancer-drugs-for-wales.&quot">www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/cancer-drugs-for-wales." This petition has now reached 600 signatures.