Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, as ucht an deis a thabhairt dom labhairt ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo anocht. I thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, for the opportunity to raise this important issue on the floor of the Dáil. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, for coming in to take this Topical Issues debate.

I can say with confidence that, normally, if I have an issue with the HSE, I can deal directly with the management and they are co-operative and always forthcoming with information. I have always found them most helpful.

However, this issue caused me some alarm over the past week when the Dáil was not sitting and I was anxious to bring it to the Minister's attention on the floor of the House. I refer to the significant delays in the provision of radiotherapy treatment at Cork University Hospital, CUH, for cancer patients. Patients attend on a daily basis for radiotherapy treatment as they battle cancer. CUH is a centre of excellence serving County Cork and the only facility providing this treatment for cancer patients. Obviously, it is of vital importance to an enormous region in the context of a very dangerous illness, cancer. As such, we want to ensure that the service runs at 100% of capacity. Having spoken to a number of patients who have been availing of the radiotherapy in CUH, I understand that there have been significant delays in treatment in the past number of weeks. The service is operating at 75% capacity usually but on the Thursday before last an incident with one of the machines meant it was running at only 50% of capacity. That delayed the treatment of patients, many of whom had to wait for hours. That wait of hours occurs in a context where patients must attend every day for a period of six to eight weeks. They travel long distances from the constituency I represent in west Cork. If one lives on the Beara Peninsula and must travel to CUH, it is a round trip of more than three hours. If one has delays of two or three hours each day during one's treatment, it is very significant and an added trauma we want to avoid for patients at all costs.

There is also an issue with optimum treatment time. If a person is post-operative, it is ideal to have the treatment begin within six weeks. However, I spoke to someone whose treatment did not begin until nine weeks after an operation due to the delays in CUH. While the treatment is not being cancelled, it is certainly being delayed significantly for patients. There appears to be a level of underperformance at this centre of excellence and I am adamant and anxious on behalf of patients that whatever resources are needed be given to the management of CUH without delay to ensure that radiotherapy services can operate at the optimum level so that patients get timely access to life-saving and necessary treatment. We must avoid inflicting any further stress on them. Every patient to whom I spoke asked me to acknowledge the exceptional courtesy, care and attention they receive from staff at CUH. They are clearly doing everything they can to ensure that patients are looked after. However, I understand that there are a number of issues with resources. I am grateful to have been allowed to raise this important issue.

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