Patient lottery’s inadequate

I WAS alarmed to read a new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on breast cancer. A mixed picture, which uncovered stark contrasts in the diagnosis, treatment and care of breast cancer patients across England.

This variation is unacceptable. Depending on where they live in England, some women are more than twice as likely to die from breast cancer under the age of 75.

Access to the best breast cancer services shouldn’t be dictated by where you live, so that’s why I have joined a new campaign by the charity Breast Cancer Now to end this postcode lottery.

I have emailed my local MP asking them to urgently contact our local Cancer Alliance to discuss how these issues can be addressed, to ensure that women throughout England receive the best possible treatment and care no matter where they live.

I would encourage others to join me and email their MP by visiting: breastcancernow.org/ postcodelottery Margaret Hornby via email

THANKS TO OUR A&E

WITH the ever increasing pressures we hear about in A&E, the reports that make it to the newspapers about patients being left to die on corridors and that staff can’t cope with the workload, you can imagine our apprehension as we got a telephone call to say my elderly grandmother had been sent in an ambulance with pneumonia and sepsis.

My grandmother had advanced vascular dementia and was cared for in a nursing home.

Whilst we knew it was always going to be inevitable, it still crept upon us too fast.

But as the events unravelled that afternoon, our experiences of Southport General Hospital, Mikhail and the amazing nursing team and medical team will remain fondly in our hearts for many years to come.

They took dying with dignity to a whole new level and met every expectation set out in NICE guidance.

The severity of my gran’s ill health was immediately recognised and she was moved into a quieter part of an A&E bay, with 1:1 nursing staff.

Her every need was attended to, to make sure that she was comfortable and pain-free.

Not only did they attend to all Gran’s needs, they were also very comforting to us, providing us with drinks and sandwiches and were very approachable for us to ask questions.

Gran slipped away, in a peaceful calm environment with her loved ones by her side.

As a family, we couldn’t have asked for more.

When people consider their preferred place of care for a dying relative, I imagine very few would choose A&E as a destination.

However our experience of the love and compassion that the staff showed us meant we wouldn’t have picked anywhere else.

Amidst the pressures, targets, increasing demand placed upon our NHS services, these people genuinely care about those who come through the door, striving to do their best to make the outcomes for these patients and relatives desirable.

The care and compassion shown was second to none.

We will be truly thankful to everyone at SDH A&E department who played a part in allowing Gran to die with the utmost respect and dignity. Thank you. Kim Leech (née Jagger) and

family, granddaughter of the late

Joyce Mary Jagger January 11 1926-March 15 2018

SHARE MEMORIES

IT’S The Royal British Legion’s belief that every WWII veteran should have the chance to revisit the battlefield on which they served.

Thanks to new Libor funding from HM Treasury, we are now able to offer a fully funded trip to anyone who served in our Armed Forces during WWII.

However, as there is no unified record of WWII veterans that are alive today, I am reaching out to you and your readers in the hope that you can help us spread the word.

The trips will take place between spring and autumn this year and a family member and a carer will also be able to go along and share