Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I fully support this motion on the vital issue of cancer services and I commend the Independent Deputies for tabling it. As the motion makes clear, we have a long way to go before cancer services are provided at the proper level in this State. Like the rest of the health system, cancer services suffered from historical neglect over decades by successive Governments. In 2001 the rate of death from breast cancer in Ireland was higher than in any of the 15 pre-enlargement EU states. There were 31 deaths per 100,000 Irish women compared with 24 for the EU 15. At the same time this country's incidence of breast cancer is below the EU average. This clearly suggests that cancers are not being detected in time, are not being treated in time or are not being treated in an effective manner.

I wish to outline the case of a constituent, who like Deputy Ferris's, had to endure very significant hardship in the course of suffering cancer. As with most people the complaint started with back pain and she attended her GP. A series of tests carried out locally, including blood tests and ultra-sound, failed to diagnose the problem. Finally, after the condition deteriorated — she was unable to eat and suffered significant weight loss and severe pain — she was admitted to Louth County Hospital and then transferred to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. Following further tests she was finally diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

Over the following months she attended the oncology department at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for a course of chemotherapy as an outpatient. In between treatment she regularly travelled from Dundalk to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital for blood checks. She also attended the oncology clinic in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, which involved long waits in a draughty corridor. Considerable personal trauma was involved with many other patients and staff going past. In this long corridor very ill patients were queuing up for critical treatment in a very degrading way.

When the chemotherapy treatment was finished she was referred to St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin for a course of radiotherapy. She was also referred to St. James's Hospital, which she attended as an outpatient. As her condition deteriorated further she was attending three different hospitals, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda, and St. Luke's and St. James's in Dublin. For some of these visits she left her home at 7 a.m. returning at 4 p.m. or later. This all happened over a period of 18 months from diagnosis. There did not appear to be a great deal of communication between the hospitals or the various doctors. There was no sign of a proper care plan. This is just one minor example of the trauma the people we represent must endure all too regularly. That woman's husband died nine weeks before her death from cancer.

This is not surprising given the constituency from which I come. Diagnostic procedures seem to take forever. Several hospitals are involved with fragmented and poor communication between many professionals and no sign of the problem being resolved. In my constituency some 25% of deaths result from cancer illness. We all wonder why that is the case. Unfortunately no effort has been made by officialdom to try to establish the cause. Many of us have formed voluntary groups and are pursuing the matter in whatever way we can. Unfortunately that will not get to the root of the problem. Meanwhile the 25% of people whose deaths result from cancer illness in County Louth invariably go through the type of hardship I have outlined. It is time the Government took the issue seriously. The people of the State are entitled to proper care. I will not try to put a political slant on the issue. The Minister of State knows what we are saying is right. He has heard of cases from all sides of the House. The issue has not been taken seriously by the Government thus far. It is overdue that it did. I commend the motion.

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