asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the length of waiting periods for cancer patients seeking radiotherapy treatment at St. Luke's Hospital, Dublin 6; and if he has any proposals for improving the situation.
Written Answers. - Cancer Patients.
160.
The present position is that the waiting period for patients undergoing radiotherapy treatment at St. Luke's Hospital has decreased since the beginning of the year and is now down to about two to three weeks. I am pleased to announce that a third linear accelerator machine has just come into operation at the hospital and this will help to reduce the waiting period still further.
I approved an additional allocation of £150,000 to the St. Luke's/St. Anne's Board last August and a number of extra medical, nursing and paramedical posts have been approved. As a result an increased level of service can now be provided at the hospital.