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Peter Black and South Wales West Liberal DemocratsRepresenting Aberavon, Bridgend, Gower, Neath, Ogmore, Port Talbot, and Swansea |
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Minister must not cave in on pressure to move neurosurgery to Cardiff says Assembly Member
January 24, 2009 12:00 AM
The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has called on the Health Minister to hold firm and resist pressure from Clinicians and Cardiff-based politicians to move neurosurgery to the Welsh capital.
Mr. Black was speaking following the publication of advice to the Minister, which suggested that neurosurgery should be on a single site in Cardiff. Consultants from both Swansea and Cardiff have also called for a single site solution though, as Mr. Black pointed out there is no consensus amongst them as to where that should be. Mr. Black is due to meet the ABM NHS Trust in a week's time to discuss the situation with them.
"The process of government is one of negotiation and compromise between the minister and her officials," said Mr Black. "Although there is very clear advice that there should be a single site, there is no clear consensus on where that site should be. I think the minister has taken the right decision in saying that we should have a two-site solution with one unit at this stage, and we should see how this works. That would preserve the service in Swansea."
"If the clinicians are proved right and the networking of the neurosurgery service between Morriston Hospital and the Heath proves unsustainable then I would argue that the natural solution would be to site the service in Morriston. That would help to preserve the first rate trauma centre here whilst also ensuring that the service is accessible from West Wales. Combined with the service in Bristol it would mean that everybody in South Wales would live within easy travelling distance of a neurosurgery unit."
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