Change to vascular services is for the better (From Warrington Guardian)

Change to vascular services is for the better

10:45am Thursday 3rd May 2012 in Letters

I WAS surprised to see Tony Higgins’ attack on our councillor and election candidate Sandra Bradshaw in last week’s Guardian. I had always thought him one of the more courteous and open minded of Labour’s councillors.

Sandra did not attend the day time event hosted by the NHS at The Halliwell Jones Stadium because she works. I was there and I am also on the health scrutiny board and have paid attention to all the briefings.

Clr Higgins is wrong. There are no plans to remove vascular services from Warrington Hospital. The proposal is that a few specialised operations should be carried out at a new vascular centre to be set up at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

These are planned operations that need to be done within a few days or a week. Pre and after care and other operations will still be at Warrington.

All the evidence shows that outcomes are better where surgeons have a lot of experience in these particular operations and there is 24-hour availability of consultant interventional radiologists.

The record in Cheshire and Merseyside is not brilliant which is why two specialist centres are planned, one in Liverpool and one in Chester. The objective is to save lives and prevent loss of limbs or brain damage.

As far as I know, no-one objects to going to Broadgreen Hospital for specialist heart bypass operations.

It appears that the proposals of Cheshire and Merseyside NHS are being deliberately misrepresented by Warrington North Labour party in order to frighten people. Telling people the truth in our Lib Dem ward newsletters has clearly annoyed someone at the top of the Labour hierarchy!

CLR JUDITH WALKER Lib Dem nominating officer for Warrington North and South