To: Rt. Hon, Alan Milburn
Minister of State for Health
House of Commons
Westminster
London
6th, September, 2002
Dear Minister,
I write regarding the recommendation in the above report by SHSCW for the permanent transfer of the in-patient and transplantation surgery set-vice from Cardiff to Bristol. As this is a cross border issue involving both Wales and England, I should like to inform you that the Welsh Kidney Patients Association has made a formal response rejecting this transfer, in particularly of in-patient care. A survey of the 90 families effected by this recommendation showed that all the families are greatly distressed by the transfer of the children's service that has been sustainable in Wales from the early 80's until 2000. These parents want the return of the service to U.H.W. as soon as possible. The W.K.P.A. has suggested that the Cardiff and Yale Trust restore the 4 designated beds that were taken from the paediatric ward, and restore the trained staffing levels to the position that was in place prior to 2000.
As a member of the Renal Transplant Advisory Group to SHSCW, I have been advised of the current recommendations regarding critical mass and population requirements to maintain accreditation and validation of the medical staff in these units. However, the British Association of Paediatric Nephrologists recommend a population of 3 million EXCEPT where travelling distances are too large. Also, the National Service Framework for renal patients in Wales, which will include paediatrics, will be addressing this issue. You will know from the English NSF that this problem will be a UK one. It has been suggested that, to comply with EU directives on working hours, a population base of 5 million will be necessary in future to warrant a separate unit. This has very serious implications for the children in Britain with End Stage Renal Failure. The government has said many times that the NHS is to be “patient led”. To this end I am writing to stress that it is not conceivable that children with renal failure in Wales will have to travel further for their treatment in the 21st century than they did in the 20th. Both Scotland and Ireland will be providing renal paediatric services for its child population. Wales, as a nation responsible for its own Healthcare provision, must do so as well I stress again, that this is a service that has been provided in Wales for many years. We are not asking for new services, we are asking to retain the current one.
I am raising this matter with the National Kidney Federation as I foresee this will be a problem that will be faced by a few of the current 11 paediatric renal units in the UK Innovated ways must be sought by the NHS to ensure that these children are treated as close as possible to their homes and families. It should not a government consideration to force the child to travel too far for treatment. Rather it is the government’s duty to respond to these needs in a way that is acceptable to the patient and their parents.
I wish to stress that I write this letter as an individual member of the WKPA and not on its behalf, I look forward to your reply.
Yours faithfully,
Gloria Owens (Mrs)
c.c. Ms. Jane Hutt, Minister for Health and Social Services
NafW
c.c. Dr G Todd, Director, SHSCW,
c.c. Mr. Gordon Nicholas, Chairman, NKF
c.c. Dr. J. Marsden, Chairman, WKPA.
Note: Please send or email any responses to the above letter to the NKF Worksop Office (details below). The NKF would like to emphasise that views expressed in letters are those of the patients/others that wrote them, and are not the views of the NKF.
The National Kidney Federation cannot accept responsibility for the views expressed by others in these letters pages.
Page created: 6 September 2002
Last updated: 8 February 2008
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