Where is the duty of care?

When the closure was highlighted in the Echo in April, 2015, Sunderland Royal Hospital officials said closure was due to a staff misdemeanour?

They then added the closure was only temporary.

Then in October, 2015, the specialist nurses left to go to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Gateshead. An official also said that the loss to breast cancer patients was only temporary.

A group of ladies recovering from breast cancer/surgery developed an Action Group called Sunderland Royal Breast Service, SOS – Save our Service – who did a brilliant job of calling a public meeting in October, 2015, with health service officials in attendance, who made various promises to patients and the Breast Care Action Group members about a new service being developed.

It is now 20 months after closure and those promises are still outstanding.

Is Sunderland going to have the new breast care service that we have been promised – or are these false promises?

Are Sunderland patients going to have breast care nurses returned, who were removed so suddenly causing upset and trauma to patients who were relying on their support and care, or are these promises false also?

Surely, after all this time the breast care consultant vacancies in Sunderland should have been filled by now, as this lack of consultants was only supposed to be temporary?

It doesn’t take 20 months to fill vacancies or does Sunderland Royal Hospital and Clinical Commissioning Officials think it’s okay for patients trying to recover from breast cancer to be pushed to one side and be forgotten about, or do think that breast cancer patients are not that important?

These false promises and the waiting game is not good enough and too upsetting for patients.

Where’s the duty of care for Sunderland Breast Cancer patients.

Disgusted breast cancer patient