Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I want to bring to the attention of the House a group that will hold a protest outside the Dáil. It is Sarcoma Action Group Ireland. Sarcoma is a rare cancer of the soft tissue or bone, diagnosed in about 250 new patients each year. They require ongoing care from multidisciplinary team specialists, surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, on Thursday 30 June, Ireland's only specialist oncologist in sarcoma chemotherapy will leave her post at St. Vincent's hospital. The ongoing care for these 200 to 300 patients a year is at risk.

We have utmost respect for the other oncologists, but nobody has the expertise that this oncologist has. Her name is Dr. Bertuzzi. She has been contracted as a locum for the last three years. The previous oncologist has now returned and Dr. Bertuzzi, apparently, is no longer required. Patients from all over Ireland have been referred to her for chemotherapy for the various types of sarcoma. The oncologist taking her place does not have expertise in sarcoma cancers, which are quite different. It is like referring somebody who has brain cancer to a person who specialises in breast cancer. It just would not happen. This is a specialist service. The patients are devastated. To listen to them would make you cry at how vulnerable and very sick they are. Dr. Bertuzzi has expertise and brings to it a very thoughtful, caring and researched approach. She has been able to diagnose not just on research but on her own intuition. She has even proved popular in Britain, where people are being referred to her, yet she is to go tomorrow, leaving 300 patients with no specialist oncologist. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has passed it over to the HSE. He has made meaningless statements that he has been struck by the number of phone calls his office has received and that they will look into it. Unfortunately, this will happen tomorrow. Perhaps the Leader could ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, to make a meaningful statement. I ask for the specialist oncologist to be retained while we work out further detail. If anybody is interest, there is a protest at 1 p.m. outside the Dáil.