SIR – As consultants of the Worcestershire & Herefordshire head and neck cancer team, we wish to express our support for the concerns raised by Paul Crawford in the recent article ‘Losing Out – anger at plans to move cancer services from city’ (Monday, May 25).

We strongly believe that it is in the interests of our patients for head and neck cancer surgery to continue to be provided at both Worcester and Gloucester.

Unfortunately, the 3 Counties Cancer Network Board has persistently ignored the advice of local doctors and instead preferred to push ahead with a decision based on questionable evidence. For example, the Network Board claims that an independent review (September 5, 2008) concluded that the service had to be centralised in one hospital. However, this review was running! The evidence it submitted did, in our opinion, not paint a full picture of the issue and has led to a flawed conclusion. This has been pointed out to the Network Board on a number of occasions, but it has failed to respond to the concerns raised, or open a dialogue with local patients and doctors.

We believe that patient care and outcomes will suffer if the service is moved to one hospital.

We therefore would strongly urge the 3 Counties Cancer Network Board and the commissioners of the three counties primary care trusts to reconsider their position and look as the strong evidence which supports the continuation of surgery for head and neck cancer at both Worcester and Gloucester with merging of the teams only. This is fully in line with national guidance and will provide the best access to the service for patients and their families.

MR CHRIS AYSHFORD; MR GRAHAM JAMES; MR NEAL BARNARD; MR TIM HALL; MR GILES WARNER; DR GEOFF SMITH; DR AIDAN NORMAN; DR DAVID WHITELOCK; DR TERRY JONES; DR BERND WITTKOP.
Consultants of the Worcestershire and Herefordshire Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Team.