Vol. 561 No. 1
186 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on the recent annual report of the chief medical officer for his Depart ment and particularly his statement that much more needed to be done to develop services for cancer patients; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3413/03]
The report of the chief medical officer for 2001 acknowledges that there has been significant development in the infrastructure of cancer services in recent years and that much has been done in tackling issues such as regional variations in service provision. Since the implementation of the national cancer strategy commenced in 1997, there has been a cumulative investment of approximately €400 million in the development of appropriate treatment and care services for people with cancer. Cancer services throughout the country have benefited from this investment which far exceeds the £25 million requirement which was initially envisaged under the national cancer strategy. Amongst a range of other initiatives, this investment has enabled the funding of 80 additional consultant posts in key areas such as medical oncology, radiology, symptomatic breast disease, palliative care, histopathology and haematology, together with support staff.
This year a total of €29 million was provided to ensure that we continue to address increasing demands in cancer services throughout the country in such areas as oncology-haematology services, oncology drug treatments and symptomatic breast disease services.
I accept that further development in cancer services are required. Cancer remains a very significant public health priority. It accounts for 25% of all deaths and one in three will develop cancer in their lifetime. The ageing of the population means that we are going to see more and more people with cancer presenting for treatment into the health services. For these reasons, we need to continue to develop and improve our services to ensure that those with cancer get high quality, effective and evidence based care.
In recognition of the need to further develop cancer services, the national health strategy identified the need for the preparation of a new national cancer strategy. The National Cancer Strategy 2003 is being developed by the National Cancer Forum in conjunction with the Department of Health and Children. This strategy will build on the progress that has been made during the implementation of the first national cancer strategy and set out the key investment areas to be targeted for the development of cancer services over the coming years and will make recommendations in relation to the organisation and structure of cancer services nationally.
