DERMATOLOGY PATIENTS' WORST FEARS ARE REALISED

10.49.17am GMT Fri 2nd Feb 2007

Closure of the Specialist Dermatology Ward at the University Hospital of Wales took place in early January and the worst fears of its patients are being realised.

A number of patients have contacted Jenny Randerson, the Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for Cardiff Central and Party Health Spokesperson, advising that they are being treated as pariahs.

Jenny said: "Their medical conditions are being exacerbated by stress, as they are now being treated in mixed wards with patients suffering from different illnesses, who find the condition of the dermatology patients difficult to deal with. Reports from staff also indicate that the use of the two dedicated and four designated beds on the General Ward is causing concern among other staff at the loss of these beds for other procedures, which is giving rise to a lot of resentment.

"I wrote to the Local Health Board last November expressing my concerns, and endorsing the comments made by the former Clinical Director for Dermatology, that the plan to treat patients on normal medical wards was undesirable because their skin condition could mean that they will be looked at as lepers.

"I also expressed surprise that, only a few years ago, dermatology was being targeted as the disease of the future and, with the predicted rise in skin cancers, I would have thought that the demand for this specialist service was likely to increase rather than decrease.

"My fears that the closure is a knee-jerk reaction to rationalisation, rather than a long-term solution, and the patients' own fears as to the way they are being treated are, unfortunately, being realised and I trust that the Local Health Board's decision to monitor the situation over the next couple of months will produce a satisfactory result for everyone. I have now written to the Health Minister, Dr Brian Gibbons, asking him to intervene to review this decision".

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Jenny Randerson on 029 2089 8355