Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

At the end of May, the Minister for Health and Children announced the appointment of Dr. Susan O'Reilly as new director of the National Cancer Control Programme, NCCP. I understand Dr. O'Reilly will take up her position in September. As a member of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, I look forward to meeting her to discuss her plans.

I had the opportunity to meet Professor Tom Keane on a number of occasions while he was in charge of the NCCP. I was always impressed by his professionalism and dedication and I pay tribute to him. On 29 January, his last day in office, he kindly sent me a long letter regarding cancer control in my own region.

I have had a long association with Tallaght hospital. On one occasion, I would have been reappointed to the hospital planning board if the Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as the then Minister for Health, had not intervened. I am proud that I have been a long-term member of the board and I acknowledge the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's help in that regard.

It is important that hospitals such as Tallaght gain a local perspective through the appointment of local people to their boards. I have raised with the current Minister my concerns about the composition of the board of Tallaght hospital and the proposals for a new board. I do not wish to imply the people on the board are not doing a good job but it should include a local dimension.

The Bill before us, which I will support, allows the HSE to take control of St. Luke's hospital. However, the HSE will not take up its position on the board of Tallaght hospital. I was a member of the new board when the hospital opened in 1998 and remained on it until I stood down from Dublin County Council in 2003, when I was replaced by my colleague, Jim Daly. When the HSE was established it decided for its own reasons, perhaps political ones, not to take up its position. Given its interest in hospitals, I wonder why it took that decision.

I raised concerns about the processes of the NCCP as they relate to Tallaght hospital. There was considerable upset and distress in Tallaght, which is the third largest population centre in the country, as well as the wider catchment area, which extends to counties Kildare and Wicklow during the initial stages of the transfer of breast cancer services from Tallaght to St. Vincent's and St. James's. My priority was to stress to Professor Keane and his colleagues the necessity of ensuring patients from Tallaght would be looked after in the best possible way.

Deputy McGinley's presence in the Chamber reminds me that, while people from County Donegal have to travel sometimes torturous journeys to get good services, the situation is different in Dublin. However, as Deputy Quinn noted, people who are unwell can be presented with challenges when crossing the city or worrying about getting the Luas. As a local Deputy for Tallaght, I will continue to make the case to the HSE and the NCCP that patients who have been treated in Tallaght – I commend the services provided in my local hospital – are facilitated in going to other centres.

Professor Keane's letter states:

In relation to the transfer of initial diagnostic and surgical services from Tallaght hospital, the NCCP engaged in a comprehensive and detailed manner with Tallaght, St James's and St Vincent's hospitals in advance of the transfer last year. That engaged explored and agreed the necessary resources that would be required for the two designated cancer centres. The NCCP was in a position to provide significant extra resources through the providing of funding, medical, nursing and support service appointments and the transfer of appropriate resources from Tallaght. We were satisfied in advance that the appropriate services were in place and remain satisfied that both St Vincent's and St James's are providing a quality assured services to all their patients.

The most recent statistics available regarding access demonstrate that both are exceeding independently established standards. The HIQA standards require all eight designated centres to see 95% of urgent patients within two weeks and to see 95% of non urgent patients within twelve weeks.

I want that standard to be maintained and I will continue working to ensure that is the case. When I have the opportunity to meet Dr. O'Reilly, I will advise her of the need to look after those patients who were satisfied with Tallaght hospital. We must ensure that everything is done in order that they are looked after and further stories do not emerge about appointments being stalled or other problems.

I compliment the newly appointed chief executive of Tallaght Hospital, Professor Kevin Conlon. Many Deputies know Professor Conlon and hold him in high regard. He has a difficult job and must cope with many difficult issues, including cancer services at the hospital. I wish him well.

Some months ago, Tallaght Hospital was the focus of much negative publicity concerning X-rays and doctors' referral letters. It was an upsetting time. Several weeks ago, I and my constituency colleagues, Deputies Pat Rabbitte and Brian Hayes, and the Minister of State, Deputy Conor Lenihan, met Dr. Maurice Hayes, who is well known to members. Dr. Hayes, who was appointed to carry out a detailed investigation into events at the hospital, offered many assurances at our meeting. We asked him to make himself available to patients and families in Tallaght and he did so. I understand he will hold further meetings. Dr. Hayes also indicated that he hoped to have his report completed by July and I wish him well in this regard. The bottom line for me is that public confidence in Tallaght Hospital is restored. The transfer of cancer services from the hospital, an issue addressed in the Bill, has also affected public morale.

I understand the process of transferring St. Luke's Hospital to the Health Service Executive is being completed under the governance of the board of the hospital, which is the largest provider of radiation oncology services in the country. Radiation oncology is the use of ionising radiation to treat disease and is most commonly delivered using linear accelerator equipment.

I pay tribute to the staff of St. Luke's Hospital who have served the public well since the hospital was established in 1954. I am not reluctant to admit I remember the year the hospital was founded. I may have considered Rathgar a different area from my own but I was always happy to pass through it.

St. Luke's Hospital has provided a great service for more than half a century. Yesterday, I spoke to Deputy Chris Andrews, the local Fianna Fáil Party Deputy for the area, on the changes under way at the hospital. Not everyone will be pleased about these changes, no more than I was when many inner city hospitals closed in the past. Many years from now people will wonder why certain hospitals were closed and certain decisions taken. Two similar cases which I recall from my youth were the closure of Mercer's Hospital and the pulling up of the tram lines in Aungier Street and Georges Street. Fifty years after those events, one must ask who made these decisions and why were they taken. I hope, in the years ahead, the decision to transfer services from St. Luke's Hospital will be considered a good one and in the interests of the community. The jury will be out on that issue for some years.

I note that Professor Tom Keane strongly advised that St. Luke's Hospital be subsumed into the Health Service Executive as soon as possible to facilitate the establishment of an integrated network. I suspect Professor Keane, who left the position of director of cancer services in January, maintains an interest in this issue.

The establishment of an integrated network will enable the creation of a single management and clinical governance structure and all staff will become employees of the HSE. Staff and resources may be shared across the network and there will be a single team of physicists, engineers and other support services for the three centres at St. Luke's Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and St. James's Hospital. Some staff and resources at St. Luke's Hospital will transfer to other sites in the network in the second half of this year.

The provisions in the Bill relating to St. Luke's Hospital are similar to those contained in the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 which transferred other health agencies, including the National Cancer Screening Service board, to the Health Service Executive. All staff at St. Luke's Hospital will transfer to the HSE under their current terms and conditions. The pension liabilities of the hospital board will also transfer to the HSE.

The Department is working closely with the board and management of St. Luke's Hospital and the national cancer control programme to ensure the ethos of the hospital is retained in the new structure. The involvement of its staff in all centres from the establishment of the network is particularly welcome in that regard.

Radiography services will continue to be delivered at St. Luke's Hospital until at least 2014 when additional capacity is scheduled to come on stream under phase two of the national plan for radiation oncology. At that point, the remaining staff and resources will transfer from the hospital.

The Bill contains a number of other miscellaneous amendments, including with regard to the infectious diseases maintenance allowance. I was astonished to learn that no one is currently in receipt of this allowance, which was introduced in 1947.

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I wish the process of transferring responsibility for St. Luke's Hospital well. It is important that those of us who have the honour and privilege to serve in Dáil Éireann take every opportunity to support the health services. While I have views and concerns about the manner in which the HSE is operating, those issues should be debated on another day. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response at the conclusion of the debate. I ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finneran, to pass on my good wishes to the Minister. I support the Bill.

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