THE controversial upheaval of the entire plastic and burns unit from Mount Vernon Hospital to the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London is "dead in the water" according to health campaigners.

Community Voice has said the proposal, mooted a year ago by Hillingdon Health Authority, is now no longer an option and that other proposals are "an utter mess".

Directors at the authority planned the move but at the end of March, Mr Stephen Eames, chief executive of Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust, announced alternatives to move the world-famous unit either to Watford General or Hemel Hempstead Hospital.

Now Watford is unlikely to be a viable destination for the unit, according to Mr Mike Turner, chairman of Community Voice.

He said: "There are too many difficulties with Watford General while any thoughts of moving to Chelsea and Westminster are almost certainly dead in the water.

"This is a victory in as much as we have killed off the Chelsea and Westminster plan, which was always our aim.

"Hemel Hempstead and Northwick Park in Harrow are the sole contenders now. The first is backed by Stephen Eames while the latter option has received the backing of the consultants. We would therefore back that."

The group believes the Chelsea and Westminster move is dead because concerns were voiced by independent experts who will decide on the unit's future.

They produced an interim report last week which raised several fears about the move. Their final decision is expected by early June.

The experts are now investigating the possibility of retaining Mount Vernon as a minor plastic and burns centre if the main centre is based at Hemel Hempstead or Northwick Park.

Mr Turner added: "We said we would agree to either of these if we could maintain Mount Vernon as a unit for lesser burns, day cases and minor operations.

"We want to make sure that if people from this area have major treatment at a new site, they could still return to Mount Vernon for check-ups."

But a spokesman for Mount Vernon and Watford Hospitals NHS Trust denied that the options had been narrowed down to just Hemel Hempstead and Northwick Park.

She said: "The trust is not going to carry out a detailed appraisal for either Hemel or Watford until the experts make a decision on relocating plastic and burns. Both Watford and Hemel are viable options and our consensus is that it would be best to relocate it within west Hertfordshire."

The continual wrangling over the unit's future received the attention of four MPs in the area this week, spearheaded by John Wilkinson, MP for Ruislip and Northwood.

With the support of the politicians, Community Voice has pressed health minister, Mr John Denham, for a meeting to discuss the issue.

The group's chairman added: "We have written to him to ask for a meeting and for his support. It must do some good to at least bring it to the minister's attention."

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