Exeter couple object to cancer unit move

A WOMAN whose husband underwent surgery for throat cancer says plans to move a specialist treatment service from Exeter to Plymouth would be an “absolute tragedy” for patients.

As the Echo has previously revealed, Devon Primary Care Trust plans to move its pioneering upper  GI cancer treatment — which covers disease of the oesophagus,  stomach, small intestine and pancreas — to Derriford Hospital.

It has held consultations across the county over the past month and now says it will recommend to its board that the plans are approved.

But Lindsay Hirst, whose husband, John, underwent surgery for oesophageal cancer at the Royal Devon & Exeter Hospital, says the move will be a major setback for the treatment.

Mr Hirst, an ambulance driver, spent weeks in hospital following surgery in 2003. It was 12 months before he could even return to work part-time. Since then, a specialist keyhole technique has been developed in Exeter which requires far less invasive surgery and enables patients to recover far more quickly.

Mrs Hirst, 59, from Exeter, said: “All this is in severe danger of being lost or certainly set back a few years because they will lose the expertise that is there at the moment.

“The reason that Devon PCT are saying that they need this move to Derriford is to create a centre of excellence and I think we already have one. They are well-respected not just in the UK but internationally for this procedure.

“If the services are here and people from all over the country opt to come to Exeter and have their treatment done with the expert team that we have got, it seems an absolute tragedy and a complete waste of money to break it up.

“It is certainly going to have an impact on visiting and caring for those in surgery and their families. I suspect there are going to be a lot of carers who are not going to be able to visit quite as frequently.”

The PCT will hold a board meeting later this month where the proposals will be discussed and recommended for approval. They commissioned a recent survey which showed that of 100 people questioned across Devon and Cornwall, more than three quarters said they would be prepared to travel to get the best possible outcome from cancer treatment.

Dr Kevin Snee, chief executive, said a new centre would bring the expertise of staff under the same roof.

He said: “We fully understand that people who have had their upper gastrointestinal surgery at the RD&E feel passionately about the service there, and a huge sense of loyalty to the team of doctors, nurses and other professionals who have given them such wonderful care.

“We appreciate the additional travel for surgery is a worry for some people, but we’re describing a model in which patients will still have their outpatients consultations, diagnostic tests and, if necessary, chemotherapy and radiotherapy at the RD&E, with only the surgery itself being done at the new centre.”

The move is expected to take place in January 2010 if the plans are approved.