Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

6. To ask the Minister for Health if he will address the ongoing delays in the approval for the appointment of consultants at Letterkenny University Hospital including a second breast cancer surgeon and an endocrinologist; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20881/17]

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

My question relates to the recruitment of specialists at Letterkenny University Hospital, including a second breast cancer surgeon, an endocrinologist and all of the ancillary staff.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Pringle for asking this important question. Letterkenny University Hospital provides essential and high-quality hospital care to patients in the north-west. I assure the Deputy of the continued commitment to develop services at the hospital as evidenced by the significant number of completed and ongoing capital projects there. In addition, Letterkenny has been leading the way nationally in developing cross-Border services for cardiac and cancer patients. I was delighted to visit Altnagelvin recently with the Northern Ireland health Minister to see first hand that cross-Border work. The breast cancer service at Letterkenny operates as a satellite centre of University Hospital Galway and is run by a consultant who also undertakes general surgery. It is augmented by visiting Galway-based and locum consultants. Efforts are being made to recruit a full-time locum consultant surgeon to address current service demands.

As the Deputy may know, I met recently with cancer support groups from the area and I thank them for their engagement. The national cancer control programme, my Department and the Saolta group are actively engaged in ensuring that quality breast cancer services are available. Consideration continues to be given to longer-term measures to meet future service requirements, including consultant and other staffing issues. The diabetes service at the hospital is led by a consultant endocrinologist supported by a locum consultant general physician who has a diabetic interest. Additional clinics are being provided in order to address diabetes waiting lists. The Saolta group advises that an application for a second consultant endocrinologist is currently being completed by the HSE medical directorate with hospital management. It will then be submitted to the consultant appointments advisory committee for approval. New consultant surgeons specialising in colorectal and general surgery and a consultant anaesthetist have been recently recruited and a number of consultant posts are currently undergoing recruitment processes. The hospital continues to innovate in its recruitment practices. I thank the hospital and acknowledge its work in that regard.

In my recent engagement in March with cancer support and lobby groups in Donegal, I agreed along with the national cancer control programme that there was a case for exploring possible options for co-operation with Altnagelvin on breast cancer services. It was agreed to hold a meeting in the coming weeks in Letterkenny involving Saolta, the national cancer control programme, Oireachtas Members from Donegal, Donegal Action for Cancer Care and Co-operating for Cancer Care NorthWest. I look forward to the outcome of that.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Minister referred to the recruitment of a full-time locum; namely a breast cancer surgeon. Is that what he said?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is the endocrinologist.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

That is okay. I wanted to clarify it. There have been numerous meetings and the Department has been good at facilitating the cancer groups in Donegal in that regard. However, meetings seems to be all we have had. In January 2016, it was announced that a second breast cancer surgeon had been approved for Letterkenny University Hospital and that recruitment would start immediately, but it is now May 2017 with no sign of him or her coming. At one stage last year, there was only one general surgeon in Letterkenny Hospital. That was the cancer surgeon who also does general surgery, as the Minister said. When a surgeon was recruited, two days of surgery were provided in the period of three months in the hospital. This is the kind of thing that is going on. While it is good that meetings are happening, we are not seeing any progress outside of the meetings. Nothing is happening.

The Saolta group has been preparing the business case for the recruitment of an endocrinologist for over two years at this stage. We are still no further on. It is impossible to escape the point that while words are being said, nothing is happening. I wonder if the creation of the Saolta group means services are being concentrated in Galway and that hospitals like Letterkenny will be left behind. That is the realisation to which many people are starting to come.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy that a great deal more than meetings is happening. I have evidenced that in the fact that we have already seen some new consultant surgeons specialising in colorectal and general surgery appointed as well as a new consultant anaesthetist. A number of further posts are currently undergoing a recruitment process. I will take up with the Saolta group the point the Deputy makes about the length of time it seems to be taking for the group to apply to the consultant appointments advisory committee in relation to a consultant endocrinologist and revert to him directly on that. For clarity, I note that it is a full-time locum consultant service to address current service demands for the breast cancer service at Letterkenny. That is also under way.

In terms of the way forward in the longer term and without wishing to speak for the groups, there was general agreement among those I met to look at cross-Border opportunities and the possibility of a joint posting between Altnagelvin and Letterkenny. The purpose of the meeting that is due to take place in Letterkenny is to explore that with the national cancer control programme. I note the willingness on the part of all parties to look at that and I am happy to continue in that regard.

Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

4 o’clock

People in Donegal do not want to see more exploration of solutions. They want to see actual solutions being put in place. This is the actual problem. I was very much in favour of the cross-Border idea with regard to radiology, which is being rolled out in Altnagelvin. However, the elephant in the room is Brexit and how this will impact on marrying together the clinical services and providing a service, if this is how it will be done. We need to see action. It will be a shock to people in Donegal to realise a full-time locum breast surgeon is all that is being sought at present when in January 2016 the announcement was that a full-time breast surgeon would be appointed in Letterkenny. We have enough locums. We do not need locums; we need actual appointments and action. A concern we had when the hospital groups were established was whether we would see a pull of services into Galway, and this certainly seems to be what is happening. I ask the Minister to take up this point with the Saolta group. The journey time from Donegal to Galway is four to five hours. If people from Dublin were asked to travel to Kerry to see a consultant they would not stand for it and it is not fair to expect people in the north west to do so.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will certainly raise these points with the Saolta group and will revert to the Deputy directly on them. He makes a fair point on patients travelling to Galway when, as he knows, part of the agreement on establishing a satellite unit was that it was not just meant to be patients travelling to Galway but consultants travelling to Letterkenny. This is a point I took up with the Saolta hospital group and the national cancer control programme when it was brought to my attention by cancer support groups and Oireachtas Members in Donegal. It is absolutely essential that Saolta continues to manage the satellite service at Letterkenny University Hospital and ensures consultants from Galway travel to Letterkenny. For one consultant to travel to Letterkenny to see patients rather than a number of patients having to travel to Galway was the concept behind having the satellite unit. There are certain issues for which the patient would remain in Letterkenny and the doctor would go to see them but for other issues the patient would obviously need to go to Galway. This debate has been long had. We need to see a greater direction of travel in terms of consultants travelling to Letterkenny. There has been some concern expressed by groups on it. I will revert to the Deputy further on the issues.