Elective surgery is often described as something which is non-urgent, as if the poor patient really had a choice.
The suggestion that patients in North Wales might elect for a nine hour round trip to Cardiff or Swansea for 'non urgent' brain surgery rather than the three hours to Liverpool seems bizarre.
A bit like the idea that those patients might elect a politician who suggested it.
Clwyd West MP David Jones blogs a riposte to Assembly Government suggestions of 'scaremongering' by reminding voters what health minister Edwina Hart told AMs about neurosurgery services in Wales on July 4.
This statement may have had more to do with retaining the services in Swansea, and the North may yet suffer the collatoral damage.
Now an expert panel is to examine the issue.
Let us hope it comes to some common sense conclusions and patients from North Wales continue to benefit from excellent facilities in Walton.
UPDATE: LABOUR AMs demanded protection for services to North Wales patients in any review of neurosurgery services in a meeting with Mrs Hart.
They want tough guidelines for the expert group which will investigate transferring patients to specialist hospital in Swansea or Cardiff instead of Walton in Liverpool.
The North Wales AMs Ann Jones (Vale of Clwyd), Lesley Griffiths, (Wrexham) Sandy Mewies (Delyn), Carl Sargeant (Alyn and Deeside) and Karen Sinclair (Clwyd South) called for the meeting to discuss their own concerns as well as those raised by constituents.
A spokesman said yesterday: “We will not accept any changes to service provision that disadvantages our constituents in any way.
“Our message is clear - services should only be improved with easy access, first-class treatment and good after-care.”
They told the Minister that the review should look at all the neurosciences, be chaired by someone from outside Wales to ensure independence, and include clinicians with high expertise.
The group also asked the Health Minister to consider a review of the work of Health Commission Wales which has been under fire for refusing to fund treatments for some patients, and to look at ways of providing hospice funding which is fair and equitable.
“All these issues are of great concern to our constituents” said the spokesperson. “We were pleased that the Minister listened to our concerns and assured our Group that they would be given full consideration.”ENDS
Citizen wrote...
Edwina like other politicians before her just cannot face the fact that there is only scope for one neuro surgery unit in South Wales and that should be based in a centre of excellence which by all accounts is Cardiff. Local vested interests are keeping the hopes of Morrison hospital alive but from a clinical point of view it makes no sense at all. If Wales needs two then one should be based here in the North. However, Walton hospital has a world reputation and has served North Wales well in the past and should continue to do so unless and until we get better in the North. We should not let petty nationalism get in the way of good health provision.
Posted by: Citizen | September 10, 2007 12:10 PM