Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
IT DOESN’T MAKE SENSE
Expert hits out at controversial plans to cut vital services and axe centres
CUTS to vital breast cancer services “don’t make sense”, it was warned last night.
And treatment centres in Belfast and Craigavon face the chop under radical plans being proposed.
The Department of Health launched the consultation with all five Trusts in Northern Ireland failing to meet their targets.
Thousands have opposed the plans and expert Dr Gwyneth Hinds said: “Why would you take cancer services away from a centre of excellence?”
THOUSANDS of people have signed petitions against plans to end breast cancer assessments at Belfast City and Craigavon Area Hospital.
The Department of Health launched a public consultation last month on proposals to cut existing services from five to three from 2020.
All five Trusts now providing examinations, mammogram or ultrasounds and biopsies are failing their targets on urgent cases with chiefs claiming it will get worse if they don’t act.
Health bosses believe the drop from five to three centres – at Altnagelvin, Antrim and Ulster Hospital – will allow them to redistribute resources, namely staff, helping them meet the 14-day targets for the most urgent referrals.
But many have hit out at the decision to close Craigavon and the City’s busy assessment centres.
Terminal sufferer Catherine Heaney, 54, who was assessed at Craigavon, said: “The review findings and the recommendations don’t make any sense. I worked in the civil service for 30 years and I think the decision was made and they worked back from it.
“It’s discriminating against elderly people and the rural population.
“Everything north of the Bann and nothing south of the Bann is totally unacceptable.
“We need the City and we need Craigavon because it makes sense. Why would you take cancer services from a centre of excellence?”
Dr Gwyneth Hinds, who worked with the City team for 13 years, said: “Moving staff to different units will not increase capacity.
“The document states we need more consultant radiologists but does not consider how employing more non-consultant clinicians and radiographers would have a much greater impact to increasing capacity.”
Dr Hinds said the consultation, which set out to find a way of reducing waiting times at one-stop clinics, has raised concerns and anxiety about the future of all breast services at Craigavon and the City.
Alliance spokeswoman Paula Bradshaw has raised questions about the transparency of the plans, revealed following lengthy investigation by the Breast Assessment Project Board.
She said: “It seems bizarre a decision has been made to place the Breast Assessment Centre at the Ulster Hospital when so many related services and all the specialist expertise exist at Belfast City Hospital. This runs plainly contrary to the Bengoa principles.” Department of Health Permanent Secretary Richard Pengelly said: “Consolidating care on three sites means we can provide durable and quality services, for the benefit of patients and staff.”
A centralised appointment system is also planned as part of the proposed reforms while a breast surgery consultation is to follow.