Vol. 501 No. 1
145 Mr. Neville asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will allay the fears of the concerned parents of paediatric haematology patients undergoing treatment at the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght; and the plans, if any, he has to phase down the accredited childhood leukaemia hospital, The National Children's Hospital. [5425/99]
I am pleased to allay any fears of parents of paed iatric haematology patients undergoing treatment at the National Children's Hospital at Tallaght.
As I informed the House earlier this month, on 3 February, there is no question of either the paediatric haematology unit at Tallaght being closed or of patients currently undergoing treatment in Tallaght being transferred to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin. Neither are there any plans to centralise paediatric haematology in Crumlin.
As the Deputy will be aware, the only change to the current paediatric oncology and haematology services will be that in future, children diagnosed with cancer – as distinct from children with other haematology disorders – will be referred for an initial assessment at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.
I recently met with representatives from CHILD – Children's Hospital in Leukaemia Drive – and I reassured them that there would be no transfer of resources, whether equipment or staff, from the new unit at Tallaght. The decision made regarding cancer treatment will also not affect current services being provided for children at Tallaght.
My Department has written to the Chairman of the National Children's Hospital setting out my desire for a structured collaboration between the three Dublin children's hospitals. In this context, I feel that it should now be possible to develop a positive agenda for improvement of paediatric services to which each hospital can subscribe. I would again emphasise that primacy must be given to the best interests of our sick children, including those requiring oncology and haematology services.
