Hospital breast cancer treatment needs improvements (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Hospital breast cancer treatment needs improvements

5:20pm Sunday 24th January 2010

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A BID has been launched to improve the service given to breast cancer patients in Furness who are having to travel to other regions for treatment, with no consultant surgeon and radiologist available at their local hospital.

Cumbria's Health and Well-being Scrutiny Committee met representatives from the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust to tackle the problems at Furness General Hospital (FGH), with patients regularly having to wait several weeks for treatment.

The trust acknowledged the service was “not ideal” and assured councillors steps were being taken to fill these key posts.

The meeting at Westmorland General Hospital heard how patients suspected of having breast cancer after an initial screening at FGH are then referred to Lancaster Royal Infirmary, with around 16 patients a week making the journey, often after having to wait for more than two weeks after the initial screening results.

Coun Bill Wearing, chairman of the scrutiny committee, said: "There was a consensus at the meeting that the arrangements for breast cancer patients in the Barrow area need to be improved, but the good news is that everyone is working to make that happen.

“We understand the problems, understand how they need to be tackled and the will be monitoring progress closely about how improvements are being made."

Four out of five patients who are referred to Lancaster require no further treatment, and most of those who do receive this treatment at Furness General Hospital.

But in some exceptional circumstances where patients require very specialised breast MRI, patients are being referred on to Bolton.The committee agreed to monitor developments and has asked the trust provide an update report at its next meeting on April 20.

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