MPs MEET WITH MINISTER OVER UPPER GI MOVE

1.30.00pm GMT Tue 15th Dec 2009

MPs Julia Goldsworthy, Dan Rogerson and Andrew George met Health Minister Mike O'Brien on Monday, to raise concerns about the lack of consultation surrounding plans to move Upper GI cancer surgery from Treliske to Derriford.

The transfer is set to take place on 1st January, but both Cornwall and Devon County Councils' Overview and Scrutiny Committees (OSC) have now referred the decision back to the Secretary of State for his consideration.

In Cornwall, concerns focus around the lack of consultation on the proposed move. After the decision was made, local residents were subject only to an "engagement process" despite the fact that legal advice had suggested that a full consultation would be necessary.

The meeting with the Minister was called after a request was made by Julia Goldsworthy in Parliament on 24th November. Initially a date was set for mid January - 2 weeks after the transfer is due to take place. A revised date was set for 14th December - just days after Cornwall's OSC decided to join Devon County Council in asking the Secretary of State to review the decision, on the basis that legal advice recommending a full consultation was not made available to them at the time.

The Department of Health is expected to decide whether to accept putting the decision before an independent review panel within a month. If it is accepted, it could open the door to reconsidering the decision to centralise these services.

The meeting was held between Mr O'Brien, Cornwall's MPs and Primary Care Trust Chief Executive Ann James. But patient representative Rose Woodward, chair of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Cancer Patient and Carer Group, was denied access to the main meeting.

Commenting, Julia Goldsworthy said:

"There is a democratic deficit at the heart of the NHS, and sadly our meeting with the Minister confirmed this.

"The Department of Health continues to insist that decisions like the one under discussion today are taken locally. The reality is that it's not local people who get the final say, but local officials, whose priority is implementing national policy. This is neither devolved nor democratically accountable decision making.

"The referral process initiated by Cornwall Council's OSC is an opportunity to put this deeply flawed process back on track. I hope that the information we provided to the Minister will help ensure his consideration of this process is a fair one."

Andrew George, MP for St Ives, added:

"We agree with Professor Mike Richards - the Government's cancer Tsar - who we have met, that patient safety is 'paramount'. But when the Government's appointed agents fail properly consult the local community affected by these pans, we agree with Cornwall Council that the Government's local health bosses must be made accountable for their decisions.

"We were astonished that Rose Woodward, chair of the cancer patients group, was excluded from the main meeting. The Government mage great play about patient involvement, but they don't want to meet them. The Minister brought a phalanx of 6 officials, but we weren't allowed one patient representative. What does that tell you about the Government's attitude to patient participation?!"