Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

It is with a sense of sadness that we discuss the change of the role St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin, which has been caring for cancer patients from all over Ireland for more than 50 years. I understand it was founded by the then Cancer Association of Ireland in 1954. No family in Ireland has not had some experience of the care provided by St. Luke's Hospital. My family experienced it, since my father attended the hospital. His care was excellent. When people discuss the hospital, they are referring to its atmosphere and air of tranquility more than anything else. There is a sense that someone is cared for as a human being as opposed to as a number going through the system. Families were involved in everything. I was reading through some of the documentation that we got from the library in preparation for this Bill and I came across quotes from people who were involved in the Friends of St. Luke's Hospital and various other protests. They talk about that ethos as being part of what St. Luke's Hospital represents in the minds of the Irish population. My mother used to get a letter twice a year from a lady whose husband was in St. Luke's at the same time as my father. They maintained that friendship and contact for many years afterwards. That is a snapshot of the way in which St. Luke's cared for people and for the families of people who were in there because they had cancer. That is the ethos that all of us in this House and the people of Ireland want to see preserved. We are right to be sceptical that this might not happen in the future plans for the hospital.

We understand that times move on and that we have to use resources well. In spite of what the Minister might say sometimes, we all supported the cancer strategy. We had one doubt about it, which was the fact that there was no centre north of a line between Galway and Dublin. By and large, the Government got the kind of support from the Opposition on the cancer strategy that I feel would not have happened if it came from the other side of the House. It must be acknowledged that we all want better outcomes for patients, which is why we largely supported the ethos of the national cancer strategy. This move today is a part of that, and St. Luke's will be part of a wider network of care for patients who have cancer in that part of the Dublin region.

We will now have four main centres, plus two ancillary centres in Waterford and Limerick. We all hope that will produce better outcomes for cancer patients, because the statistics are quite stark. The National Cancer Registry statistics show that between 2005 and 2007, an annual average of 27,023 new cancers was registered. Apart from non-melanoma skin cancer, the most common cancers were prostate cancer at 2,462 cases, breast cancer at 2,335 cases, colorectal cancer at 2,156 cases and lung cancer at 1,118 cases. The risk of developing cancer was roughly 6.6 per 1,000 persons per year over the two year period in question. Our wish is that those statistics be addressed primarily through screening, early detection and prevention.

I welcome the fact that we pretty much have BreastCheck all over the country now, and we will have colorectal screening within a couple of years. Like Deputy Neville, I was aware of the situation in Clare. I do not understand why that issue arose in respect of planning. I was screened from a mobile van in the grounds of a premises owned by the HSE in Limerick. The procedure was perfectly fine for me and for my neighbours, so it is unfortunate that there was a glitch in the roll out, because Clare is the last county to be incorporated in the plans. I was in the House when the Minister of State, Deputy Brady, made her statement a couple of days ago, and it is to be regretted. Overall, there is no doubt that we are making progress.

I support the calls by Deputy Reilly and Deputy Neville for the Minister to tell us that we are on schedule for the roll out of colorectal screening in accordance with the plans that have been outlined to us. There were 952 people waiting for more than three months for a colonoscopy in the most recent statistics. That is directly at variance with the specific plans of the Minister in respect of access. When she signed the most recent consultants' contract, one of her aims was to ensure that there would be no difference in waiting times between public and private patients for colonoscopies. That is welcome and we remember the tragic story of Susie Long that was put into the public domain. At the beginning, she did not use her own name, but eventually she did. If she had been diagnosed earlier, she would have had a better prognosis for the outcome of her case.

While the Minister has said that there will be no difference between public and private patients in respect of waiting times, the reality is completely different. Private patients can go to private hospitals and clinics to have colonoscopies carried out and can then access the service sooner than public patients. That is the reality of the world in which live. Private patients make appointments every day and are seen within a short period of time.

We need a system of health care in this country where everybody is treated on the basis of need. We need it especially in respect of early diagnosis of killer diseases like cancer. There should be no difference between public and private patients in the diagnosis. If somebody needs a diagnosis, then he or she should get it. If there are symptoms of colorectal cancer, then the person should get in as quickly as possible to have a colonoscopy if that what the person's GP considers to be the best option. It is not within the capacity of GPs to decide that one person is urgent and another person is not urgent. If the GP sees symptoms, he or she will want that person to have the diagnosis.

I want to express my concern about the future of St. Luke's Hospital and Deputy Quinn will continue in that vein because of his own experience of people who live near the hospital. We do not know anything about the future use of the site and we have not been given any undertaking on that use. We need to provide certainty that the site will be retained for health purposes. It is being transferred to the ownership of the HSE, as are the staff and the resources, but we need to know that the site will be retained for health purposes. There are many health needs in this city and across the country, and I would like the Minister to give us that kind of undertaking today.

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