Keep all the screening units open

THOUSANDS of women and families across the county are having to wait for a decision on the future of the breast screening service in Buckinghamshire.

The Buckinghamshire NHS board meeting was expected to announce which, if any, of the county's breast screening units were to close.

The authority had warned that it could close one or two of the screening units at either High Wycombe, Aylesbury or Milton Keynes.

Thousands of people from across South Buckinghamshire joined the Free Press campaign to save the service, writing moving accounts of how breast cancer affected their lives, or family's lives.

Health chiefs met in Milton Keynes, on Wednesday, to discuss the possible closure of one of the three screening centres in Buckinghamshire. They failed to reach a decision, leaving many families in limbo once again.

The authority should make the decision a priority and if it was unable to reach a decision several months after announcing the plan, it should not be considered at all.

One of the arguments against the closure of any of the units is that patients will have to travel further afield and it would be inconvenient at a time when many people using the service already have serious worries.

To illustrate how ludicrous the idea of centralising the service would be, it took a Free Press reporter almost two hours to reach the meeting in Milton Keynes travelling by car from High Wycombe in rush-hour.

Perhaps those making the decisions should realise that the closure of any of the units would lead to women having to travel further distances to reach an appointment, and not everyone has the luxury of being able to use a car.

Services should be maintained locally for everyone and none of the centres should be closed.

Keep all the screening units open

THOUSANDS of women and families across the county are having to wait for a decision on the future of the breast screening service in Buckinghamshire.

The Buckinghamshire NHS board meeting was expected to announce which, if any, of the county's breast screening units were to close.

The authority had warned that it could close one or two of the screening units at either High Wycombe, Aylesbury or Milton Keynes.

Thousands of people from across South Buckinghamshire joined the Free Press campaign to save the service, writing moving accounts of how breast cancer affected their lives, or family's lives.

Health chiefs met in Milton Keynes, on Wednesday, to discuss the possible closure of one of the three screening centres in Buckinghamshire. They failed to reach a decision, leaving many families in limbo once again.

The authority should make the decision a priority and if it was unable to reach a decision several months after announcing the plan, it should not be considered at all.

One of the arguments against the closure of any of the units is that patients will have to travel further afield and it would be inconvenient at a time when many people using the service already have serious worries.

To illustrate how ludicrous the idea of centralising the service would be, it took a Free Press reporter almost two hours to reach the meeting in Milton Keynes travelling by car from High Wycombe in rush-hour.

Perhaps those making the decisions should realise that the closure of any of the units would lead to women having to travel further distances to reach an appointment, and not everyone has the luxury of being able to use a car.

Services should be maintained locally for everyone and none of the centres should be closed.