Cornwall cancer campaign group boss steps down
A cancer campaigner in Cornwall has resigned as boss of a care group because health bosses were not listening to patients, she has said.
Rose Woodward was chairwoman of the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Cancer Patient and Carer group.
She said she chose to go after the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust decided to appeal against a ruling it had unfairly dismissed its former chief.
The trust said it was "disappointed" Mrs Woodward was stepping down.
'No will to listen'
Cancer patient Mrs Woodward said that she had attended increasingly hostile meetings with local health bosses.
The most recent she attended discussed plans to move upper gastro-intestinal surgery from Cornwall to Devon, which she was against.
Mrs Woodward said that any challenges to health trust policy were met with criticism.
She said: "I've written many letters and attended hundreds of meetings, and I've devoted a lot of hours to it.
"But I'm beginning to doubt that the will is there to listen and accept what patients have to say to the NHS."
The Royal Cornwall Hospital's Trust said it was "disappointed" at Mrs Woodward's decision.
It added: "However, the RCHT Trust Board has not taken lightly the decision to appeal against the tribunal judgment.
"As we have already said, the trust has received legal advice that it would be inappropriate to make any public statements while these proceedings are ongoing and will not, therefore, be making any further comment."