On Friday, members of HealthWatch joined other members of the Campaign Team from the Mayor's Parlour Group at a meeting hosted by the Primary Care Trust in Camborne to discuss a way forward on the future of West Cornwall Hospital. The meeting of 35 people also included managers and hospital consultants from Truro, local GPs and hospital nurses. It was facilitated by a health management consultant from Wales, who outlined his own ideas for the future of emergency medicine whereby all emergency patients could ultimately access their local hospital for initial treatment, only moving up to the larger hospital if necessary. This idea turns on its head the current ideas for centralising emergency hospitalisation, and would be very popular with patients. Speaking after the meeting, HealthWatch members said:
"Whilst we are encouraged that the different groups were able to sit together around a table for five hours, it is clear that no agreement has yet been reached on the vexed issue of emergency admissions at West Cornwall Hospital, the future of A&E / Casualty or the High Dependency Unit. Much work remains to be done, more openness from clinicians to doing things differently and developing local solutions to local problems, and more openness and honesty in order for trust to be rebuilt."

Since the March of 20,000 on 14th April, people have asked advice about next moves, the "Choices" leaflet and the "roadshows." Many have written letters, which have been arriving in their hundreds at the Community Health Council offices in Truro. It is quite clear that these individually written letters have deeply touched Council members. However, it is important that the public also make their views known to the Review Team, who can be contacted at the PCT Offices in Camborne (Josiah Thomas Memorial Hall, Trevithick Road, Camborne TR14 8LQ). Final decisions will be made by the PCT Board. This Board has six Non-Executive members, who are lay paid appointees to the Board. These Non-Executives are working hard to assess the situation, and it may be helpful for members of the public to contact them too. (All live in Penwith or Kerrier, or may be contacted at the PCT Offices). They are:
Ed Ferrett (Camborne), Mark Jeffrey (Camborne), Luke Murray (Penzance), Joy Gunter (Helston), Heather Rowe (Mousehole) and Anita George (St Levan).
The "roadshows", organised by the PCT for pre-booked groups of not more than twenty people at a time, commenced last week in Camborne and Redruth. They continue this week in Hayle, and next week in Penzance. However, even if every place is booked for each of the two-hour presentations, the Review Team will only be able to see just over one thousand people - compare this with the twenty thousand who marched two weeks ago! Members of the public who wish to take part in these small group discussions should book their places on the published freephone number. Initial plans by the Primary Care Trust to use electronic voting on a range of statements were we understand abandoned at the first roadshow in Camborne last week.

Co-ordinator: Marna Blundy, 4 Botallack Moor, St Just, PENZANCE, Cornwall TR19 7QH
Tel / Fax 01736 788107
Email: westcornwallhealthwatch@yahoo.co.uk