THE PEMBROKESHIRE HERALD can reveal that Dr Anne Barnes MBE has quit her post at Withybush Hospital following a dispute
with the Local Health Board. 

Sources close to Ward 10 have told this newspaper that Dr Barnes, awarded the MBE for her services to cancer patients in Pembrokeshire, walked outlast Friday (Jan 30), having become frustrated with what she perceived as the Health Board’s failure to deliver on assurances given previously to her.

Dr Barnes had agreed to come out of retirement to ‘hold the fort’ at Withybush Hospital while the Board made permanent arrangements for specialist staff cover at the ward. It is understood that Dr Barnes became dissatisfied with the arrangements the Board had put in place and was not prepared to continue in the circumstances in which she found herself.

One current staff member told us: “I know that after all the reassurances that Ward 10 would remain dedicated to palliative care and cancer patients, it is now a general medical ward. This means that non-specialist consultants have control of patients’ admissions and treatment.” Dr Barnes told us: “When I put in my notice of retirement, the Health Board had made no successor arrangements.

They asked me to return to set up a full-time acute oncology service. I accepted the challenge to keep the service going. I was asked to extend my contract from December to the end of January. I said I was prepared to do so under certain conditions, which were not met. I went back to work last month to work to its end, but no progress was made.

I was left unable to admit patients and had no junior doctors to work with.” She continued: “I was asked to extend that contract beyond the end of January. I had no written contract. As I felt the Board was not giving me the facilities to provide a good standard service, I decided to leave. I told them on January 20 that I was leaving. The Board told me they wanted me to work notice of a month, but at that stage my fixed term contract ending December 31 was already over.

“Yesterday (Feb 4), I received a letter dated January 30, asking me to sign an extension to my contract!” Dr Barnes concluded: “I feel very upset about the situation. I wanted to try but my feeling is that I cannot come to an agreement with the Health Board that would enable me to deliver the level of service which I consider to be of an acceptable standard.

I prefer, therefore, to leave the service and hope that the Board is able to find a replacement.” Dr Sian Lewis Acute Services Clinical Director and Consultant in Haematology told The Herald: “Dr Barnes has this week withdrawn from the part-time post in oncology and palliative care. The service model introduced six months ago is unaffected by this and patients will continue to receive oncology, palliative care and chemotherapy services at Withybush Hospital, from a team of doctors and nurses, as they do now.”