Letter: You Say – Cancer Service Choice

By Paul Young

I AM writing as a Membership Councillor of the Liverpool Women’s Hospital, in response to your article (“City hospitals in cancer care row”, ECHO, Jan 11) regarding the future of breast cancer services in Liverpool.

Although the ECHO has previously given coverage to this issue, we have been concerned that public awareness of the consultation process has been very limited. As Membership Councillors, elected by local people, our role is to ensure that their voice is heard when major changes to services at the Women’s Hospital are considered.

One such change is now being put forward by the Liverpool PCT. They are proposing to move all breast cancer surgery from the Women’s to the Royal Liverpool Hospital. However, Liverpool Women’s have also proposed to provide all services in a new purpose-built integrated unit which would not be ready until 2008 but which would then provide a “state of the art” centre for Liverpool women for many years.

My main purpose in writing this letter is to urge everyone who has any interest in the future of breast cancer services in Liverpool to make their views known to the PCT. Information is available on the website www.liver-poolpct.nhs.uk. In addition, public meetings are being held, the final one of which is at Fazakerley Community Federation on January 24.

Paul Young, Membership Councillor

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