Niall Blaney (Donegal North East, IND-FF)

Following my recent calls on the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, with regard to the improvement of services in Letterkenny General Hospital, I wish to further highlight the deficiencies faced there. While there are currently no plans to downgrade oncology services at the hospital. the services currently available need to be improved and additional services are also required. In the short term, Letterkenny General Hospital needs a radiological oncologist to visit the hospital on a weekly basis. The people of Donegal urgently need access to radiotherapy services in the region. It is difficult for them to access the services in Dublin or Galway because of the long travel distances involved. The hospital needs recognition and confirmation with regard to the BreastCheck programme and a permanent consultant breast care surgeon must be appointed as soon as possible together with a consultant colorectal surgeon to provide an appropriate service for patients with bowel cancer.

Elective admissions for cancer-related procedures are affected by the pressures in accident and emergency departments, as it is not possible to ring-fence beds for cancer patients. Emergency admissions for life-threatening conditions take precedence over elective admissions. All efforts are made to give cancer patients a new elective date at the earliest opportunity but delays are commonplace. The regional directors of cancer services deem these specialist services necessary as a minimum requirement in providing a modern oncology service. It is imperative that these services are recognised as immediate necessities and not as services that would be nice to have, so to speak.

While I welcomed the then Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin's announcement in 2003 to extend the breast screening programme nationally, I have serious reservations regarding the timing of its roll-out in the north-west region. It is not expected to be operational in the north west until 2007, and this is not acceptable. We need this service now. There will be three mobile units also made available in respect of this service for the north-west region. I call on the Tánaiste to ensure that these units are made available in Letterkenny and Inishowen on a frequent basis.

This service was implemented in February 2000 in the then Eastern Regional Health Authority, the North Eastern and Midland Health Board areas. Since then it has been rolled out to various parts of the country but, as usual, the north-west region has been left to last. As the Tánaiste is aware, we have serious problems in the accident and emergency department in Letterkenny General Hospital, which I will continue to highlight. On average 90 people attend that department daily and there are still major delays in dealing with patients there. I would be pleased if the Tánaiste could shortly visit Donegal to see first-hand the problems in the health services there.

See this speech in context