Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

The Deputy may be referring to recent media reports regarding an application before Sligo County Council to rezone land which would permit a planning application to be made in respect of a private health facility. The reports state that such a facility may provide certain medical services, including oncology. It is not clear whether the facility will ever be established but I want to make it clear that I have no intention of encouraging or supporting the provision of any services which cannot meet the required standards of safety and care.

I am aware that a number of private health facilities have advertised various oncology services which they provide. I contacted hospitals in the independent sector in 2007 urging them to take steps to ensure that their breast cancer services complied with the national standards for symptomatic breast disease. I also brought the standards to the attention of private health insurance providers and the chief medical officer wrote to health insurers and the independent hospital sector again in October this year reminding them of their responsibilities in this regard.

We have been preparing to work on legislative proposals for a mandatory licensing system to cover both public and private health care providers, based on explicit standards to be set by the Health Information and Quality Authority. I intend to bring these proposals to Government next year. This will ensure that all services, whether publicly or privately provided, meet the same high quality care standards for all patients.

Under this national strategy for cancer control, the HSE has designated eight specialist cancer centres, each serving a minimum population of 500,000. University Hospital Galway is the designated centre for Sligo. Breast cancer diagnostic and surgical services were transferred from Sligo General Hospital to University Hospital Galway in August, but medical oncology services and outpatient radiation oncology clinics continue to be provided in Sligo. Other than non-melanoma skin cancer and a limited volume of bowel cancer cases, the vast majority of other curative cancer surgeries have never been undertaken at Sligo and are routinely referred to one of the eight designated cancer centres.

Irrespective of media reports regarding the possible development of other services, I believe that the concentration of breast cancer services into eight designated specialist centres is the only way to achieve the best results for our patients. The application of national standards, and ultimately the mandatory licensing of public and private facilities, will provide the best way forward.

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