Hospital to retain breast-care service

Mar 21 2008 by Madeleine Brindley, Western Mail

BREAST care services at a community hospital have been saved as campaigners won their two-year battle to safeguard the centre.

Health Minister Edwina Hart yesterday announced that the service would remain at Llandudno Hospital, for the foreseeable future.

She also outlined plans to redevelop Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, which is “riddled” with asbestos.

The move follows a two-year campaign by residents to retain the breast care service as a centre of excellence in Llandudno.

The original reconfigurations plans for North Wales envisaged the service would be absorbed into the district general hospital.

But Mrs Hart said, “I have accepted the recommendations into further service enhancement at the hospital and for cardiac and stroke services to be relocated, in the longer term, elsewhere in North Wales. I received a number of important representations from women patients, emphasising the advantages of single-sex wards which Llandudno provides. The current breast care service should remain at Llandudno for the foreseeable future while further work and advice is provided on a model of breast care services in North Wales.

"Following discussions with clinicians, and in light of my acceptance of the recommendations for the future service enhancement of Llandudno Hospital, I am persuaded that further work needs to be done to explore the possibility that Llandudno could become a centre of excellence for breast care services.”

Linda Groom, chairwoman of the Llandudno Hospital Action Group, said, “The campaigning has paid off and we have the result we wanted – the future of the hospital is secure.”

But Darren Millar, Conservative AM for Clwyd West, said, “This is a hammer blow to the people of Llandudno and all those who use the hospital.

“Acute cardiac and stroke beds are still being axed despite the overwhelming opposition of local people.”

He said the the minister was simply rubber stamping recommendations in the Designed for North Wales report which caused so much public outrage across the region in the run-up to last year’s elections.