Health secretary will not intervene in battle to keep vascular surgery at Arrowe Park hospital

Jan 16 2013 by Helen Hunt, Heswall News

THE Government has refused to resolve a dispute over the future of Wirral’s vascular services.

Campaigners and Wirral Council are at loggerheads with the NHS over moving operations out of Arrowe Park Hospital.

The NHS wants to establish the Countess of Chester hospital as a centre of excellence for vascular surgery – operations carried out on burst or blocked blood vessels.

The move will see more complex and specialist operations done at the Countess instead of Arrowe Park, which will be left with routine work.

Campaigners believe Arrowe Park is the best place to create the super centre and the council also objected, writing to the Government.

But after taking advice from an independent panel, health secretary Jeremy Hunt MP said a full review of the decision to move operations “is not necessary”.

The panel instead urged Wirral NHS to invite the National Clinical Advisory Team (NCAT) to look at the proposals again to make sure they are robust.

But it is understood NCAT will only review the clinical arrangements of the decision to establish the centre in Chester, rather than possibly overturn the plan.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: “Local healthcare organisations, doctors, nurses and other health professionals with their knowledge of the patients they serve are best placed to decide what services they need for patients in their area.

“The secretary of state has accepted the advice of the independent reconfiguration panel, which has recommended that a full review is not necessary and would not add anything to the process.”