Following on from yesterdays post on neurosurgery, it turns out that RT was more or less on the right track in asking the questions he did. How intriguing.
According to reports issued today, adult brain surgery will be permanently centralised in Cardiff because of the nationwide shortage of junior doctors. However, the corollary is that more patients from Mid and West Wales who need spinal surgery will be treated at Swansea.
An official statement confirms that “Complex inter-cranial neurosurgery will continue at the University Hospital of Wales but any pre and post-operative care will be carried out at Morriston Hospital.
“However, more patients from Mid and West Wales who require spinal surgery will go to Morriston instead of travelling to UHW as at present.
“The plans will allow surgeons to sub-specialise, increasing their expertise and services, which will improve outcomes for patients.
Reaction and fallout will no doubt emerge as the day progresses and politicians & patients groups catch up with events.
Update (18 Oct): Based on the ambivalent page 6 treatment given to the announcement in Saturday's EP and the total absence of any mention by caller or studio presenter on this morning's Swansea Sound phone-in, the Assembly's spin-corps can congratulate themselves on a job well done.
1 Comments:
Let's face facts. There has been no real media scrutiny at all of this outcome or the process involved. All we have seen are the usual yapping mouthpieces like Cairns and Black blaming Edwina Hart for a u-turn rather than examining what vested professional interests lie behind this particular decision. This is not about sustaining a viable neurosurgery facility in Wales. It is a compromise solution brokered by Cardiff Deanery officials to ensure that people in clinical and managerial posts continue to enjoy a salary-workload ratio that would make an MP blush.
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