Dáil debates
Tuesday, 18 April 2023
Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate
Cancer Services
Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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It is now ten minutes past midnight and here we are. I appreciate the Minister of State taking this matter.
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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Family friendly.
Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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Family friendly is right. We have all got homes to go to. I appreciate that the Minister of State is here. I am disappointed that none of the health Ministers is here to listen to my plea. This is the seventh effort I have made to get this matter taken. Now that it is finally being taken and the Minister of State is here to take it, despite the fact it is 12.10 a.m., I have decided that we should press ahead and get it on the record.
Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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We will call it early morning instead of late evening.
Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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Exactly. We are into the following day. I appreciate the Minister of State sticking around to take this matter. It relates to Cancer Connect, which is an extraordinary cancer support service in Cork, west Cork and extending into County Kerry. It offers a transport service for people availing of chemotherapy and radiotherapy services in Cork University Hospital, CUH, and Cork city. At the time I got these statistics together in June last year, 106 passengers per week were being brought to Cork city for cancer treatment by Cancer Connect, which is extraordinary. This was brought about by 300 volunteer drivers who do not take a penny to bring cancer sufferers to Cork city for their treatment. Salaries are involved for administration and management staff involved in delivering the service, but this is all paid for primarily by fundraising. An extraordinary fundraising effort is put in to get the finances together for this service.
I raised this issue with then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, in June. He felt it could perhaps be funded through the national cancer strategy.
On that note, I contacted the then CEO of community healthcare organisation, CHO, 4, who confirmed he had made an application to the HSE service plan for specific funding for Cancer Connect.
We are now into April. From what I gather, the service plan has been announced, but we are looking for detail within it. Has Cancer Connect been successful in acquiring the much-needed funding? It is looking for a small sum, considering the service it provides, of about €100,000 to maintain the extraordinary services it provides for cancer sufferers in Cork and Kerry. I cannot overstate the importance of the service. Many would not have been able to avail of or get to their cancer treatment if it had not been for Cancer Connect. The support it has given to families is incredible. Families who had few or no options for transport for their cancer treatment have been able to avail of this 100% free service. We need to protect it and fund it, and the State needs to take a role in doing that. I hope the Minister of State will have some detail on what is contained within the service plan and on whether Cancer Connect has the funding it needs to maintain the service.
1:05 am
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising the issue, to which I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. Cancer Connect was set up in 2011 and provides a free transport service for people attending Cork hospitals for cancer-related appointments, including radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The driving is done entirely by volunteers who give their time to the valuable service. Fundraising is integral to the continued service provided by Cancer Connect and other such support services and the Minister is advised the organisation has also received financial support from the HSE.
In 2022, the HSE's national cancer control programme, NCCP, provided programme-level funding to Cancer Connect in order that it could continue to provide transport for people receiving cancer treatment throughout the area served in County Cork. I understand Cancer Connect expanded its service beyond west Cork in response to the increase in the number of cancer patients attending Cork hospitals. The organisation is now providing a service in north-east Cork while examining other expansion options including volunteer driver recruitment.
The Government recognises the need for patients to have good access to, and support with travel for, cancer treatment. Two services administered by the Irish Cancer Society offer financial or transport supports towards travel for cancer treatment. The first of these services is the travel-to-care scheme, a limited transport assistance fund funded by the NCCP at a cost of a €350,000. This is available to patients travelling to a designated cancer centre, an approved centre or an approved children's hospital and will cover part of the associated costs.
The second scheme available is the volunteer driver service. Similar to that provided by Cancer Connect, this is a volunteer-delivered transport service wherein patients are driven to and from treatment in designated partner hospitals and centres. Drivers are interviewed, trained and Garda vetted and must attend annual support supervision sessions run by the Irish Cancer Society. The volunteer driver service is free to the patient, with all costs paid by the Irish Cancer Society, and applications can be made through a healthcare professional in a partnered hospital, who will then discuss the suitability of the service. Once referred, the patient must book appointments with the Irish Cancer Society. I am advised the Irish Cancer Society is happy to receive requests outside the guidelines on exceptional bases. The Minister welcomes the opportunity to discuss funding for cancer support services and centres and encourages the Cancer Connect organisation in Cork to engage with the HSE on any funding applications or concerns it has.
Cancer support services throughout Ireland, whether they provide assistance with travel or other supports to people living with and beyond cancer, are invaluable to those they support. The Government recognises the valuable work done by the staff and volunteers of cancer support centres throughout the country.
Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for the response but, as he will appreciate, it did not quite answer the question I had. To help in this exercise, he might take note of my comments, and pass on a message to the Minister for Health, regarding my specific question. The then CEO of CHO 4 made an application to the HSE for specific funding for the running of the Cancer Connect service. We were told to await the publication of the service plan. My understanding is the service plan has been published but the detail within it has not yet been released. I ask that a message be conveyed to the Minister with a view to getting detail on the service plan and on whether Cancer Connect was successful under it.
A related service, ARC Cancer Support House in Cork, provides emotional and educational support, therapies, breast cancer services, counselling and group exercises. There is a similar story there, where an exceptional cancer support service with a base in Cork city and also in Bantry constantly has to fundraise to maintain the service. It is looking for an ongoing State contribution in order that it can keep the service going. I ask that a question be put to the interim CEO, who will be in place for the next couple of months, regarding the detail of the service plan and whether Cancer Connect and ARC house are covered.
Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy. My initial response would have been a good one if the question had been about the Irish Cancer Society, which, of course, it was not. It related to a totally different matter, but this is not the first time I have been asked to come to the Chamber and read out a prepared statement relating to something for which I am not responsible that is not related to an issue a Deputy has raised.
The issue the Deputy raised is one that is close to my heart. I know people, including family members, who have availed of volunteer drivers and used cancer support services. The question he raised is not a difficult one to answer, and while I do not have the answer for it, we will try to get one for him. The issue cuts to the heart of a lot of rural communities, especially where they are isolated from acute hospitals. In many cases, people depend on neighbours or family members to drive them to hospital appointments, and in the absence of a family member, a volunteer who can serve the likes of Cancer Connect, the Irish Cancer Society or whatever is invaluable.
I will ask the Minister for Health or a Minister of State to revert to the Deputy on the matter. It relates to a service a lot of people in this House will have been touched by. While we will not have gone out seeking to be touched by it, we know the value of it.