NHS: Save Our Sick Kids Surgical Services

Please support our petition to Save Our Sick Kids Surgical Services by demanding the NHS stop the proposed merger of the Cleft Surgical Services in Scotland and continue providing a service in BOTH Edinburgh and Glasgow.  We are concerned that patients and families have been forgotten about since the most important factor, quality and successful surgery outcomes have not even been looked at. We understand that all cleft services are required to audit the success of surgery and insist that these audits are considered. It is the Cleft Service today it could be your child/grandchild’s service tomorrow!

It will cost you nothing but your time to sign our petition, the proposed changes will cost a cleft family far more than time commuting to Glasgow instead of Edinburgh but will have a significant impact both financially and emotionally. 

THE DETAILS: - East Scotland’s cleft patients and parents were very distressed and concerned to hear on 29 October 2015 that the NHS had made the decision to close the East of Scotland Cleft Surgical Service currently situated at The Sick Kids Hospital in Edinburgh and merge it with the West of Scotland Cleft Surgical Services at The Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Govan, Glasgow. The sole Cleft surgeon in East Scotland surgical service is the world renowned surgeon Ms Felicity Mehandale.

At a public meeting on the 22 June 2015 the NHS gave assurances that Cleft Surgical Services would NOT be merged. The reversal was made only four months later without full or proper consultation with patients, parents or staff. It has come as a devastating blow to those involved.

This potential move may be the thin end of the wedge for loss of services to the West for our children in the East as parents are now expected to believe that local cleft support clinics will not be closed if the surgical service moves to Glasgow. Parents believe this to be yet another false assurance and that it would only be a matter of time before all routine appointments would be in Glasgow. This will be life changing to the cleft child and their families, especially those living in remote areas and the Islands of Scotland.

Any decision to centralise care would result in losing the invaluable service currently available and possibly the loss of cleft knowledge and expertise of specialist nurses, hygienist, orthodontist, Speech and Language, ENT, sleep study and special respiratory staff all associated with cleft care. Many will not transfer to the new hospital as cleft care is only part of their NHS duties and/or family commitments will prevent a change of hospital. 

One very serious worry is that the change will prompt Ms Mehendale to seek employment elsewhere resulting in the loss of her internationally renowned surgical expertise and research work. 

Concerned parents have decided to fight the change and along with this petition have sent protest letters to MSP’S in a bid to have the decision overturned. 

If you would like to help, in addition to signing our petition, please write to your local MSP and/or pass on the link to our petition by email, Facebook or twitter. 

Thank you for your support it means a great deal to the Cleft families in the East of Scotland.