PRESS STATEMENT

WORRIES ABOUT NEUROSURGERY AND OTHER SPECIALIST SERVICES FACED BY PATIENTS FROM NORTH WALES

(CBPS 62B)

STATEMENT

A group of distinguished retired people who have played a prominent role in the NHS and in public life in North Wales, have issued a thorough and hard hitting report attacking the proposal, that elective [non-emergency] patients requiring neurosurgery could be redirected from The Walton Centre, Liverpool to Morriston Hospital, Swansea.

The group also fear that this proposal is the start of a trend, and will become the model for other specialist services [such as heart surgery in Liverpool and Manchester, children's services at Alder Hey and spinal injuries at Gobowen] for patients to be redirected to Cardiff.

Neurosurgery

Professor Bob Owen said, "The proposal that non-emergency neurosurgical patients should be redirected to Morriston is breathtaking in its disregard for the welfare of patients, their relatives and carers from North Wales"

A large number of letters have been sent to newspapers attacking the proposal, mainly dealing with the important issue of extra journey times. This report goes into issues in much greater depth covering;

- a detailed description of the present services

- exact distances, times and costs comparing journeys to Walton with Morriston

- the extra stress for patients, relatives and carers

- the potential dangers for patients if responsibility for care is split between two centres

- the fear of loss of teamwork between doctors in hospitals in North Wales with those in Walton

- the effect of the split on rehabilitation services

- the denial of patient choice . Professor Bob Owen said "The proposal involves a level of compulsion that we believe is unprecedented in the history of the NHS"

- the impact on the ambulance service with higher costs and reduced cover in North Wales

The report sets out reasons why neither a neurosurgery, nor a neurology centre in North Wales would be viable. The present arrangements should continue that patients are referred to Walton, unless the patient prefers to be treated in South Wales. The proposal for an 8 bed acquired brain injury unit at Llanduno General Hospital is fully supported.

Huw Thomas said "This bizarre proposal should be firmly rejected by the Assembly. The Minister's standard response to objectors that they are scaremongering is patronizing. People in North Wales are right to be scared when such an extraordinary idea is put forward with any seriousness"

Other Specialist Services

The report examines the Minister's statement about the reasons for proposing the redirection of half of all neurosurgical patients. This, combined with other statements made by the Minister regarding a spinal injuries service and foundation hospitals, leaves a very clear impression that the long term policy of the Assembly is to redirect patients requiring specialist treatment not available in North Wales away from hospitals in North West England to Cardiff.

The report strongly opposes such a change. Acute hospital services should be provided in North Wales wherever this is possible [already 97% of acute care is provided in hospitals in North Wales]. For the remaining 3% of patients, links should be strengthened with specialist hospitals in Liverpool, Manchester and Gobowen, always allowing patients to choose to be referred to hospitals in Cardiff, if they wish.

The report also points out that the extent of the difference between the waiting times for Welsh patients, compared with those from England at the same specialist hospitals in England, is very considerable and appears to be widening. The report calls for a full and comprehensive study to be undertaken of the problem, setting out the differences and measures to achieve equality.

25 March 2008