Dáil debates

Wednesday, 7 November 2007

Cancer Services: Statements (Resumed).

 

4:00 pm

Photo of Kieran O'DonnellKieran O'Donnell (Limerick East, Fine Gael)

The Government has known since 2001 that centres of excellence for breast cancer should have been established. That is more than six years ago. Why has it taken so long to establish them? In terms of the centres of excellence, Professor Keane will be in place at the end of this month. Will the Minister put the resources in place to make absolutely certain that Professor Keane can move with efficiency to establish the centres of excellence immediately? Otherwise there is a danger that this will drag on.

The Minister for Health and Children is responsible for all health services. Under the Health Act 2004, the Minister is responsible for Government policy while the HSE is only responsible for its implementation. The Minister appointed the board of directors of the HSE and Professor Brendan Drumm but, ultimately, she dictates policy. I wish to take up a point mentioned by Deputy Mary O'Rourke. The powers in the HSE are vested in the board. It can decide how much power to give Professor Drumm but, ultimately, it is answerable to the Minister and the Taoiseach. It was not good enough for the Taoiseach to come into the House this morning and say that neither he nor the Minister are responsible for what the HSE does. They are the HSE's boss and should be calling the shots.

I refer to issues I would like addressed, in particular Barringtons Hospital. The issue in Barringtons Hospital arose on 6 August. Why has it taken over two and a half months for the inquiry to be fully set up? The team has not been put in place. When will it be put in place and when will the report be produced? The end of the year was mentioned but we are entitled to know the date. The women of the mid-west are entitled to know as are the women in the Portlaoise area who my colleague, Deputy Charles Flanagan, mentioned.

I would like the issue of mammograms addressed. This morning the Taoiseach mentioned there would not be a double reading in hospitals with 500 or fewer readings per year. That is not good enough. The Minister is responsible for giving an assurance to women that they will get a proper reading. It should be Government policy that double readings take place. There may have been some confusion this morning. The Minister spoke about triple assessments and double readings in the same sentence. They are two totally different things. A double reading is two radiologists reading a mammogram twice. The situation arose in the hospital in Portlaoise because there was only one radiologist.

I would like double readings to take place and digital machines to be put into all the existing hospitals so that double readings by radiologists can take place. The Minister needs to give an assurance to the people in the interim until the centres of excellence are established, which should happen immediately.

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