Chris Mole welcomed praise for cancer surgery at Ipswich Hospital during his conversation with Cancer Tsar, Professor Mike Richards today about controversial plans to centralise Head and Neck cancer surgery.

Chris said after the planned telephone conversation:

"Professor Richards said he had visited Ipswich on two or three occasions to open new linear accelerators and other cancer treatment facilities, and felt Ipswich Hospital ran a tight ship."

Professor Richards insisted the national guidance from NICE was intended to ensure better survival from caners and reduced complications from surgery by concentrating surgery at specialist centres equipped with Multi Disciplinary Teams.

He also said that it was common sense and that evidence from around the world suggests that for all cancers that need complex surgery, centres with larger throughput have lower mortality and morbidity rates. He gave as an example the fall in the 30 day mortality rate from 9.4% to 4.9% for oesophageal cancers since the implementation of NICE guidance.

Chris went on to comment:

"I was particularly interested in the Professor's view that it may be possible to operate on a split site basis with Ipswich surgeons being part of a team with colleagues at the Norfolk and Norwich using video conferencing for team meetings and deciding which of the patients with the most complex surgery needs would be required to travel to Norwich.

"I would be keen to see the Anglia Cancer Network explore this possibility before it reaches a decision."