The unit's medical clinics were moved this week from the NBN Telethon building at Waratah across Platt Street to the main Mater building.

The unit's director of research, Professor Peter Hersey, said yesterday the change to the new clinics had been "chaotic", with files missing and a shortage of space.

He said patients ringing the melanoma unit's main 4985 0100 number were greeted by a disconnected signal with no explanation or message.

Professor Hersey said one of the unit's four visiting medical officers had told the Mater he would not hold clinics until they were returned to the Telethon building.

He said Mater general manager Colin Osborne seemed determined to "destroy" the unit and that his research was being hampered by a "a turf war" started by some Mater oncologists who apparently resented the unit's stand-alone status.

Professor Hersey said two new drug trials approved by the hospital's ethics committee were unlikely to go ahead because the Mater said he could not be accredited to give chemotherapy despite having done so for more than 25 years.

He said specialist cameras and melanoma-detection equipment had been left behind in the Telethon building because there was no room in the space allocated in the Mater building.

"The early detection of melanoma is the key to treatment and some melanomas can be very hard to see, so the failure to detect them at examination is becoming a major cause of medical litigation," Professor Hersey said.

Mr Osborne called the arguments of Professor Hersey and the melanoma unit's former director, Dr Bob Sillar, "specious".

In a letter to The Herald last week Dr Sillar said the move would have "a devastating effect" on the provision of melanoma services in the Hunter.

Mr Osborne said he "rejected, absolutely and outright" the notion he was destroying the unit.