Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 July 2011

6:00 pm

Photo of Catherine MurphyCatherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this matter. There appears to be a serious problem at St. James's Hospital, which is a centre of excellence for the provision of cancer care. I was contacted by three men in the past couple of weeks who have all been diagnosed with prostate cancer and all of whom require surgery. In the middle of May, one was informed that his surgery would take place in six weeks. Now his procedure has been postponed until the end of July. However, it is not definite that it will be carried at that time. Another of the men to whom I refer was due to go for surgery this week but he has been told to ring on the day before or on the morning on which the procedure is scheduled to take place. This individual has been informed that the procedure may, in fact, be postponed.

The third man by whom I was contacted is awaiting a date but has been told that he should not worry because his cancer is of a type which is slow to develop. The difficulty is that this person has been informed by some individuals that there can be a delay of months in respect of the surgery he requires. He has been told that he should not worry but how can one not worry when one has been diagnosed with cancer and when one requires surgery? That is nonsensical.

As already stated, St. James's Hospital has been designated as a centre of excellence. Patients were diverted from St. Luke's in order to ensure that there would be such a centre and a major argument developed in respect of that matter. If better outcomes are to be achieved, adequate resources must be provided, particularly in acute situations such as that to which I refer.

What is the point in obtaining an early diagnosis if such a diagnosis is not responded to? Everyone will remember the well-publicised controversy which arose a number of years ago in respect of cancer diagnoses. My husband was diagnosed with colon cancer some years ago, a few weeks after I was first elected to the House. He is doing very well now but one of the lessons I learned from what happened to him is that once the surgery was carried out, it was possible for him to adopt a positive mental attitude because he was not focusing on his cancer but rather on his recovery. The men to whom I refer are not being allowed to focus on their recoveries.

There is something seriously wrong when we have designated a centre of excellence and when certain surgeries cannot be carried out there. I telephoned St. James's Hospital and spoke to a nurse in the admissions section of the relevant unit. I felt sorry for her. She informed me that she is on the front line and that every day she is obliged to postpone operations and deal with the people who are continually arriving - by ambulance and by other means - from different places throughout the country. She is completely frustrated. It is not, therefore, just a case of my being informed by the three men to whom I refer that a difficulty exists. A person who works on the front line at the hospital informed me that there is a serious problem there.

I request that the Minister talk to the people who run St. James's Hospital in order that he might be satisfied that the service to which I refer can be provided to those who require it. This matter does not even relate to cutting costs. The longer someone must wait for surgery, the longer he or she is out of work and the longer his or her recovery will take. It is not a question of money, there is something seriously wrong with regard to the way the service in question is being delivered.

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