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Wednesday, July 16, 2008, 11:40
Throat and neck cancer treatment is already supposed to have moved from the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske to Plymouth's Derriford Hospital as part of a scheme to create one dedicated centre in the region in 2010.
But the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust (PCT) is facing mounting pressure from patients, staff and campaign groups to keep the service in the county.
Peter Davies, chairman of the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, resigned his post in protest at the plans last week.
A petition with almost 19,000 signatures was handed to the county council ahead of yesterday's meeting of the Health and Adult Social Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
The PCT was dealt a further blow as councillors voted for a full consultation process saying “piecemeal and inadequate information” had prevented “rigorous scrutiny”.
The debate was opened by Anna Burton, of the Cornwall Cancer Patient Group, who said patients were “horrified” at the thought of having to transfer to Plymouth.
“We know what it feels like,” she told councillors. “Separating vulnerable patients from their husbands, wives and families is appalling.”
A similarly impassioned plea was made by Terry Murray from the Keep Cancer Care in Cornwall Campaign. He said: “It is cruel and inhumane to expect these very poorly patients, many of them elderly, to travel from all over Cornwall to Plymouth to receive their surgery.”
The scrutiny committee backed the case for further consultation – by 16 votes to two – over arguments put forward by PCT chief executive Ann James.
She told councillors that while the decision to centralise upper gastrointestinal treatment in Plymouth was “regrettable and difficult”, it was necessary to increase survival rates.
“Some services need to go to a bigger centre to give patients a better chance of surviving,” she said.
The PCT also brought in leading surgeon Professor Mike Griffin, from Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, to support its case. He said there was “no doubt” that larger specialist centres gave patients a better chance of beating the disease. His team operated on around 170 patients a year. The figure in Cornwall was 25.
“The more you practice, the better you get at it as an individual surgeon,” said Prof Griffin, adding that the same was true for other areas of care.
Councillors voiced concerns over the move, not least the impact on vulnerable patients. But they also feared that losing the specialist surgery would lead to the loss of vital skills at Treliske.
Proposing the recommendation, chairman Eric Parkin said information was “focused upon the clinical case” rather than the effect on patients, local services and “the longer-term strategic direction of specialist services in Cornwall”.
Immediately after the meeting, a clearly exasperated Ms James said she was “concerned and surprised” that councillors had not accepted the medical case for change.
“It is not clear what additional information the committee requires to make a decision or how this would add to the overwhelming body of medical evidence which calls for this change to be made. The PCT will be clarifying the committee's recommendations before considering how it will respond.”
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Campaigners Anna Burton, left, Terry Murray and Rose Woodward with the huge petition
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