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Tuesday, July 15, 2008, 15:48
Instead, its health and adult social care overview and scrutiny committee ordered a full public consultation into the transfer of Upper-Gastro Intestinal (upper GI) surgery from the Royal Cornwall Hospital (RCH) Truro, to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth.
The committee said the people of Cornwall should also be consulted on the “planned centralisation” of the treatment of gynaecological and head and neck cancers.
Its decision – carried by 16 votes to two – received a mixed welcome from the Keep Cancer Care in Cornwall Campaign Group, whose members packed the public gallery.
Speaking after the vote yesterday afternoon, group spokesman, Sheena Cox said “It will be difficult for the public to have confidence in a consultation led by the PCT.”
“But at least now we will be able to move forward and have a full debate that the public have so far been denied.”
Minutes before the meeting began, campaigner, Rose Woodward, presented Eric Parkin, committee chairman, with a petition containing 18,985 names calling for upper GI cancer treatments to be retained at RCH.
“Just wanted you to see the volume of feelings of people,” said Mrs Woodward, of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Cancer Patient and Forum Group.
The development came five days after Peter Davies dramatically quit as chairman of the trust that runs RCH.
In his resignation letter, he told Sir Michael Pitt, chairman of the South West Strategic Health Authority: “There appears to be no willingness to consider the future strategic position of RCHT within the NHS South West area.”
“I am drawn to the inevitable conclusion that specialist services will continue to be centralised out of Cornwall in the belief that this will deliver improved outcomes for patients.”
On the eve of yesterday's crunch meeting at County Hall, senior medical and dental staff at RCH waded into the debate, expressing “dismay” over the resignation of Mr Davies and “total support in defending the services we offer”. They warned: “Removal of upper GI cancers from Cornwall would start a de-stabilising process in the local health community.”
Cllr Parkin was expected to warn fellow committee members that information provided by the PCT over the transfer of upper GI treatments had been focused on the clinical case rather than the effect on patients and local services.
He added: “Significant amounts of conflicting information have been made available on this issue via a number of stakeholders since November 2007, leading me to the conclusion that this is a far more complex and wide-reaching issue than we were led to believe. The significant weight of public concern has been demonstrated today through the petition, and we have a duty to carefully consider their views.”
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