Finian McGrath (Dublin Bay North, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this issue. I acknowledge that a cancer diagnosis is a difficult time for patients and for their families. There are also costs associated with a cancer diagnosis, as with any serious illness.

The Department of Health and the HSE’s national cancer control programme have worked together to improve the quality of cancer services through reorganisation and expansion. We have moved from a fragmented system of care to one that consolidates cancer treatment in larger centres, with multidisciplinary care and decision making.

Cancer care in Ireland is provided across the continuum of primary care, acute hospitals and social services. In line with international best practice, acute hospital cancer care is centred in eight designated centres. There is clear evidence that patients who receive treatment in hospitals with a high patient volume, from doctors who themselves see a high volume of cases, have better outcomes.

At the same time, care is delivered to patients as close to their homes as possible. For example, medical oncology is delivered in 26 hospitals under the direction of the designated cancer centres.

There are various transport options available for patients travelling for medical care. These include HSE directly funded transport, voluntary schemes and community transport, as well as specific cancer-related services supported by the National Cancer Control Programme, NCCP. Travel2Care is a transportation assistance fund which has been made available by the National Cancer Control Programme to patients travelling to a designated cancer centre, approved centres or an approved children's hospital for assessment, diagnosis, surgery or active treatment. It is administered by the Irish Cancer Society. This nationwide transportation assistance fund is specifically aimed at supporting people who have a financial difficulty in meeting some of the costs of travelling to appointments.

Some 13 hospitals across the country are covered by the service, including Beaumont Hospital in my constituency, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, St. James's Hospital, St. Vincent's University Hospital, Cork University Hospital, University Hospital Waterford, Galway University Hospital, University Hospital Limerick, Letterkenny General Hospital, Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin, St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin, the Whitfield Clinic in Waterford and Altnagelvin Area Hospital. The NCCP makes a specific grant of €0.35 million annually to the Irish Cancer Society to assist with the cost incurred by the Travel2Care programme and such funding will continue this year.

Separately, the Irish Cancer Society operates a volunteer driver service, which provides transport for cancer patients to and from their hospital chemotherapy treatments. Nationwide, 21 hospitals participate in this programme, to which patients are referred by hospital voluntary cancer support centres.

The focus of the Department of Health and the National Cancer Control Programme is on the provision of health services, including cancer services, and this is in line with the approach across Europe. The national cancer strategy for 2017 to 2026 sets out a roadmap for the continued development of cancer services over the ten years of the strategy. Patient involvement was a key feature in the development of the strategy, in line with the increasing emphasis on understanding the patient perspective. This has been continued through the establishment of the Cancer Patient Advisory Committee, which comprises 15 people who have been affected by a cancer diagnosis directly or through a family member. The committee has already provided a valuable contribution to initiatives related to the implementation of the cancer strategy.

The Department will continue to work with the National Cancer Control Programme and with voluntary organisations such as the Irish Cancer Society to address the needs of cancer patients in a holistic manner.

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