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A STANWELL resident has lashed out at Ashford Hospital for closing its reception on the face cancer ward.

Maureen Smith, 80, had mouth cancer in 2003 after a long running fungal infection in her mouth turned cancerous.

She claims that the private reception at the Maxillo Facial Clinic was a nice personal touch.

She said: “We as patients were treated with care and attention and never felt like a hospital number. Linda the receptionist was part of our extended family and never failed to call us by our Christian names, asking after our family.

“I believe that this personal patient care is important, and it is a shame that these patients will be added to the main stream and never recognised. I also think people who have mouth cancer are very self conscious as the face is quite often defaced through surgery. So much so that it can be quite distressing to look at them.
“I know that when I had it I hesitated before going out of the ward. I feel that the patients now must feel quite uncomfortable going to the main reception.”
The hospital closed the reception for maxillofacial patients three weeks ago but denies that the reasons for this are financial.

Matron for outpatients, Diane Lashbrook, said: “The reception for maxillofacial patients at Ashford Hospital merged with the main reception used for other outpatient clinics to provide a single point of contact for patients.
“Patients have told us it is confusing to arrive in the department and have to ‘book in’ for different clinics at different desks, so this change is a direct result of their feedback. The centralised reception is very close to the old maxillofacial reception and will be run by the same staff, so patients can expect to receive the same friendly and personal service.

“We know that centralised reception facilities work better for patients and also offer an opportunity for reception staff to work across different specialities and cover each other’s holidays and absences.”