AN ONLINE petition set up to prevent Ayr Hospital’s cancer treatment unit from closing has attracted thousands of signatures.

More than 14,000 people have pledged support to keep Station 15 open after concerns were sparked after the local health board announced changes to the current structure, meaning some patients would now be treated at Crosshouse Hospital.

NHS Ayrshire and Arran announced this week that they would move Tier 2 services which treat main tumour types and patients with some less common cancers would move to Crosshouse, whilst Tier 3 which would be outreach facilities with nurse-led treatments would be based at Ayr.

But the decision to move treatments led to widespread concern with an online petition called ‘Do not close Station 15 at Ayr Hospital’ set up by Eleanor McCarrey.

The petition pointed out the importance for patients and their families living south of Ayr, in areas such as Maybole, Girvan and surrounding villages.

It argued that the journey could make a difficult journey for a cancer patient even more ‘harrowing’.

The post read: “Station 15 at Ayr Hospital is for Cancer patients. Closing this station and moving all the present and future patients to Crosshouse Hospital means patients & and patients' families from Maybole, Girvan and all surrounding villages south of Ayr have to travel a further 18 miles for cancer treatment.

“Apart from additional stress for patients/families during a very difficult and emotional time in their lives, there is the additional expense of having to travel further.

“For families using public transport to visit a patient, additional buses have to be used to travel from Ayr to Crosshouse.

“During cancer treatment of Chemotheraphy to expect patients to travel a further 18 miles is inexcusable and makes a difficult journey even more harrowing and what is presently a long day even longer.”

The health board have told the Advertiser that the unit will not close, despite fears from the public.

A statement from Statement by Joanne Edwards, Director of Acute Services said: “There are no plans to close Station 15 at University Hospital Ayr (UHA). We are currently engaging on a Chemotherapy Service Review that proposes changes to the way the service is delivered in order to meet growing demand.

“The plans outline that chemotherapy will continue to be delivered at UHA. We encourage members of the public to read the details of the proposals on our website and participate in the online feedback survey, which is open until the 8 March 2020.”

The petition which aimed to reach 15,000 signatures has reached 14,330.