Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Jim Daly for raising this extremely important issue. I join him in acknowledging the excellent work of the staff and the care they provide. The priority is to ensure that people who are suffering do not have that suffering added to. We must provide them with as much support as possible. The Minister, Deputy Harris, sends his apologies, but I welcome the opportunity to speak on the issue.

The radiation oncology unit at CUH is currently installing a new oncology information system which requires the transfer of patient data to a new system. The work is being undertaken on a phased basis and two of the four linear accelerator machines in the radiation unit in Cork have now been upgraded to the new system. Following this upgrade, there were some delays which affected capacity on the linear accelerators. The cause of this problem has been identified and the necessary changes to the software have been made to rectify the situation. CUH has assured the Department that at no stage during this installation programme has a patient's treatment been cancelled. The CUH management team is continuously monitoring the upgrade programme. I acknowledge, however, that while no appointment has been cancelled, there have been some delays because the service has been unable to operate at full capacity.

Radiation therapy is an integral part of cancer treatment with 50% to 60% of all cancer patients requiring it at some point in the care pathway. Modern radiotherapy now requires highly sophisticated hardware and software to deliver treatment. This increased complexity has resulted in the more accurate delivery of radiation doses to cancers while simultaneously sparing more normal tissue. New advances are being made in radiation therapy treatments, including the provision of brachytherapy, leading to improvements in patient outcomes. Radiation oncology is provided in five public hospitals in Dublin, Cork and Galway and services are contracted from private facilities in Limerick and Waterford. Patients from the north west can now be referred to the north west cancer centre at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry for treatment. That offers them treatment much closer to their homes than was previously available. The national plan for radiation oncology will oversee the further development of radiation oncology facilities in Dublin, Cork and Galway. The completion of the national programme for radiation oncology is a priority for the Department.

I am pleased to inform the House that work on the new radiation oncology facility at CUH is under way. Construction on the main contract to provide what will be a very important and much-needed facility for patients receiving radiation oncology services in Cork commenced yesterday. The new unit will comprise five new linear accelerator machines which is one extra over the current capacity. It is expected that the new facility will be fully operational by the end of 2019. The Minster reiterates his commitment to providing safe high-quality radiation therapy to patients in Ireland and assures the House that at no stage through this installation programme has a patient's treatment been cancelled. However, I acknowledge that the hospital would like to schedule more patients for treatment on daily basis. Due, however, to the outdated machines currently available, that has not been possible. With the five new accelerator machines, which is one additional machine, the hospital will be able to increase provision.

See this speech in context