Sir, I have been a long time campaigner for cancer services in Pembrokeshire. The Hywel Dda Health Board has new leadership with Mrs. Bernadine Rees at the helm as chair. Mrs. Rees told me that it is a new start and she expects to get things done. 'Give me a chance,' she said. Her words were good and I want to trust the Health Board, but it has been so long that we have fought for cancer services and we have been fobbed of and given false hope on so many occasions. Recently, Monday, September 22, to be exact, the staff of Ward 10 at Withybush Hospital turned up for work to find that it was no longer a dedicated cancer ward, but a general ward. Can you imagine how it feels as a member of staff on a ward and be the last to know of such immense changes? A couple of weeks previous to this, a meeting of the new 'project board' for the updating of Ward 10 and the new oncology lounge (known at the moment as a chemotherapy day unit) was held to discuss plans for the future of cancer care at Withybush Hospital. Funnily enough, none of the 'big hitters' who were present, Paul Hawkins (project leader) or Sue Lewis (county director), felt it necessary to mention that Ward 10, as people know it, would disappear in two weeks. At Withybush Hospital now there is no consultant oncologist, no palliative care consultant, no dedicated oncology, haematology or palliative care beds and now no dedicated cancer ward. Dr. Ann Barnes has felt the need to speak out in the press because of the situation with cancer services at the hospital. The Health Board has had plenty of notice that Dr. Barnes was leaving, and we have had two years without a palliative care consultant. We are constantly told of the difficulties of recruitment of consultants. But adverts were not placed when needed and terms offered are not conducive with getting top class people into Pembrokeshire. The advertisement for a palliative care consultant was only recently placed because the Health Board were happy for Dr. Barnes to do that job as well. At a recent get-together at Adam's Bucketful Of Hope, I asked Mrs. Bernadine Rees (chair of Hywel Dda HB), Mr. Paul Hawkins and Mrs. Sue Lewis if, as a gesture of goodwill to the people of Pembrokeshire, they could put Ward 10 back to a dedicated cancer ward to help allay the genuine fears of cancer patients throughout the county. I tried to explain that cancer patients see Ward 10 as a 'safety net' where they know the staff and the ward. I have personal experience of contacting Ward 10 on a Sunday morning full of fear and worry, only to be told to come in and they would check me over. The Health Board seem unwilling to listen to or understand this. Do we really expect cancer patients with weakened immune systems to be queuing up at A&E in the hope of getting to see someone? We now have cancer patients scattered throughout the hospital and not on a dedicated ward. Anyway, the answer to the question of putting Ward 10 back to a dedicated cancer ward was number one, the question was asked, 'that when Ward 10 is fully refurbished, will it then be put back to a dedicated cancer ward?' To my amazement, the answer to this was 'unlikely, probably not.' The Hywel Dda Health Board want to spend the 'ring-fenced' amount of £250,000 on the full refurbishment of Ward 10. This amount of £250,000 is ring-fenced from a charitable pot called 'Pembrokeshire Cancer Services.' The clue is in the name, 'cancer services.' So if this money has been generously donated by Pembrokeshire people for Ward 10 (a cancer ward), why is it going to be a general ward? Is that a misuse of charitable money, or is it another case of 'smoke and mirrors' and they will use charitable funds however they please? A recent statement from the Local Health Board said: "University Health Board did not receive donations and legacies from the public to the Cancer Services Pembrokeshire Fund with any specific wish that it is for the 'Bucketful of Hope' or any expressed restriction (most likely in the form of a legacy) that it be used in this way. Instead, it was received with the wish that it be used in cancer services in Pembrokeshire (in the form of unrestricted donations)." The key words in the statement are 'the wish that it be used in cancer services in Pembrokeshire.' So if this money is used for Ward 10, then surely it has to be for a cancer ward, because that is why people gave it in the first place. I would dearly love to have faith and trust in the Health Board, but trust has to be earned. They need to show me and the people of Pembrokeshire that they mean business and they want to be the best they can for us. I will continue to fight for cancer services and campaign for better provision for Pembrokeshire. I will attend project board meetings and hope to get the long overdue new chemotherapy day unit and refurbished Ward 10. Come on Hywel Dda Health Board - show the Pembrokeshire people you care and give us some good news, maybe then we can start to trust you. Lyn Neville, Pembrokeshire Cancer Support