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Seanad Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 16 Nov 2005

Vol. 181 No. 18

Hospital Services.

I wish to give a minute of my time to Senator Cummins.

is that agreed? Agreed.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and am pleased to raise this issue because on many occasions in this House I looked for a radiotherapy unit to be set up in Limerick. I was therefore delighted that the unit opened in Limerick Regional Hospital on 27 October.

In the past, patients in need of radiotherapy had to travel long distances, especially to Dublin, for treatment. This created a great deal of inconvenience for patients and their families. It is to be welcomed that up to 95% of all those in the area in need of radiotherapy treatment for cancer can be treated at the new unit which is to be operated by the Mater Private Hospital. There will be occasions when specialist radiotherapy treatment will be required at other locations outside Limerick. The Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, recently announced that a radiotherapy unit would operate as a satellite of the existing radiotherapy unit in Galway. There have been strong traditional links with Dublin and it would be necessary to retain those links along with Galway for the widest possible expertise to be available.

The mid-west owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust for providing funding of up to €8.5 million to complete the radiotherapy unit. It has also promised to open the unit to public and private patients. We are fortunate to have the expertise of the staffing resource provided by the Mater Hospital. The Department of Health and Children should now clarify that it will be providing the funding to compensate the Mid-Western Hospital Trust for the private patients.

In Waterford, the Whitfield Clinic, a private hospital which will hopefully open at the end of next year, will provide radiotherapy. We want to know what is the situation with regard to funding of public patients in that hospital. How will the Government fund public patients with regard to radiotherapy? The Whitfield Clinic is a private facility but it is willing to provide services to the public. However, the issue is whether the Government will pay for those services.

There is talk of another private hospital being built on the grounds of Waterford Regional Hospital to provide similar services, but that is a long way off.

Will the Minister of State indicate Government thinking on funding for public patients? People continue to travel from the south east to Dublin. As there is no dedicated transport service for these patients, they have to find their own way to the city. The situation is different in Dublin and surrounding areas, where taxis and ambulances are provided. The people of the south east are being treated as second-class citizens in this regard.

I thank Senators Finucane and Cummins for raising this matter on the Adjournment. I would like to take this opportunity to set out the current position with regard to national radiation oncology services.

Last July, the Tánaiste announced the Government's approval for a national network of radiation oncology, work on which will commence in 2008 and be completed by 2011. The national plan will mean an investment in additional capacity to the equivalent of 23 additional linear accelerators. The capital investment involved will be approximately €480 million, most of it funded through public private partnerships over the period to 2011.

The network will consist of four large radiotherapy centres in Dublin, Cork and Galway and two integrated satellite radiotherapy centres in Limerick and Waterford Regional Hospitals, conditional on their conformity to certain quality assurance arrangements and on the following basis: satellites to be limited to locations which are geographically distant from a large centre but have a population which can support a requirement for a minimum of two linear accelerators; satellites to be integrated with one of the four large centres to ensure maintenance of standards and adherence to protocols; radiation staff to be employed by large centres, subject to agreement and arrangements where there are pre-existing employment contracts; and radiation staff to rotate in and out of large centres to maintain and develop skills and knowledge.

In 2004, the former Mid-Western Health Board provided a site at Limerick Regional Hospital to the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust for the development of a radiation oncology facility. The trust in turn contracted the Mater Private Hospital to run the service. To date, patients in Limerick have been referred for treatment to the radiation oncology departments at Cork University Hospital and University College Hospital, Galway. The HSE explored with the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust the possibility of the facility at Limerick becoming a satellite to be integrated with University College Hospital, Galway, in the context of the national plan. The question of access to this unit for public patients is a matter for the HSE and is subject to adherence to national quality assurance guidelines. The funding of public patients so referred is also a matter for the HSE.

In this regard, the national radiation oncology co-ordinating group provides advice to the Tánaiste and the HSE on radiation oncology. A leading consultant in the mid-west is a member of this group. The group recently submitted quality standards for the provision of radiation oncology services for public patients to the Tánaiste. I expect that any service agreement involving the HSE and the centre will reflect these guidelines.

Since 1997, we have provided additional cumulative funding of over €60 million to support the development of cancer treatment services in the mid-western area. This investment has resulted in the appointment of an additional eight consultant posts in specialties such as medical oncology, histopathology, haematology and surgery and the appointment of an additional 22 clinical nurse specialists.

I have described in broad outline the considerable investment and planning for the development of radiation oncology services nationally and in the mid-west in particular. This reflects the commitment of the Government to cancer care in the region. I see significant potential for the centre as part of the integrated national network announced by the Tánaiste last July. This will have major benefits for patients in the mid-west. I encourage all relevant parties to act on this element of Government policy as a matter of priority in the interest of developing the centre to its true and full potential.

The Tánaiste and I have acknowledged the work of the Mid-Western Hospitals Development Trust in bringing forward radiotherapy in the mid-west. Throughout the health sector, we support and salute innovation and work by charitable organisations to provide new services and support for patients. The HSE is currently in discussions with the trust to agree a fair and sustainable basis for payment for public patients using the facility. The trust's offer to pay for public patients was well received. These discussions are entirely appropriate and normal in respect of any services paid for by the State. I am confident they will reach a speedy conclusion in the context of the preparation of the Estimates and the HSE service plan for next year. Both the HSE and the trust will find mutually acceptable arrangements, including financial issues, to make this happen.

The Minister of State used the word "speedy" in the context of the Estimates. Does he expect the matter to be resolved by January 2006?

In my opinion, the answer to the Senator's question is in the affirmative.

Is that a promise?

As the Minister of State is a Limerick man, I am sure he wants to resolve this matter.

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