THE Evening Star is fighting to keep life-saving head and neck cancer surgery where it belongs - at Ipswich Hospital.The Anglia Cancer Network (ACN) has recommended moving the service to Norwich, leaving patients and their loved-ones facing a 100-mile round trip at one of the most stressful times of their lives.
THE Evening Star is fighting to keep life-saving head and neck cancer surgery where it belongs - at Ipswich Hospital.
The Anglia Cancer Network (ACN) has recommended moving the service to Norwich, leaving patients and their loved-ones facing a 100-mile round trip at one of the most stressful times of their lives.
The network claims the switch is needed to comply with national guidelines which aim to create specialist centres to deal with head and neck cancer.
But expert clinicians at Ipswich Hospital say the move would be catastrophic for patients and the hospital.
They warn that the highly-regarded oral and maxillofacial department could be downgraded as a result, meaning it may not be able to deal with facial trauma cases, which could even have an impact on the Accident and Emergency department.
So far more than 2,400 people have signed the Star's petition online or in the newspaper and the Star will hand the petitions to the ACN next Wednesday when the consultation ends.
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