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

I thank the Senator for raising this issue and I welcome members of the organisation in question to the Gallery. I respond on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris. The Senator has raised a number of questions which I will not be able to answer, but I have taken note of them. I will bring them directly to the Minister's attention and ask him to respond to her. I thank Senator Devine for giving me the opportunity to update the House on the matter.

As the Senator and many people know, sarcomas are rare cancers, with about 220 cases occurring annually in Ireland. Services for patients with sarcoma are currently provided in St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin and Cork University Hospital. Both hospitals are designated cancer centres and have an extensive range of multidisciplinary services and expert clinical advice available to them.

A national clinical lead in soft tissue sarcomas is in place to oversee services for patients. Patients have their cases presented and discussed at one of the two sarcoma multidisciplinary teams, and members of these teams have links with European specialists in sarcoma. The treatment of sarcoma requires integrated multidisciplinary care, with the involvement of many different clinicians. St. Vincent's University Hospital has provided highly specialised and individualised treatment to sarcoma sufferers for a number of years. St. Vincent's has access to all the relevant specialties for treatment, including surgery, medical oncology, radiation oncology, radiology and pathology, and it is the largest provider of surgical procedures for soft tissue sarcomas in the country. The Health Service Executive, HSE, and the Department of Health are very much committed to providing a high-quality, responsive and sustainable service for sarcoma patients.

To support the existing range of services for patients with sarcoma, an additional permanent post of consultant medical oncologist with a specialist interest in sarcoma has been approved for St. Vincent's. The recruitment for this post, as the Senator noted, is under way. It has been advertised both online and in other media and I will ask for clarification as to whether it goes further than what has been outlined. The closing date for applications is 27 November. The job description for the position makes it clear that the post will provide a specialist service for sarcoma patients, and this will be a focus during the recruitment process.

The Department is currently working on a new national cancer strategy for the next decade. Services for rare cancers such as sarcoma have received considerable attention in the development of the strategy, which will aim to meet the needs of patients in the treatment of cancer and improving their quality of life. Other areas of focus will include prevention, the early diagnosis of cancer and the facilitation of patient input. The Minister intends to publish the new strategy in the coming months.

On behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris, I assure the Senator that the recruitment process is ongoing and will be concluded shortly. In the meantime, high-quality services will continue to be delivered by the multidisciplinary sarcoma teams, including the team at St. Vincent's University Hospital. I cannot answer the questions on the interview panels, the independent experts and the timeframe of four months currently but I will refer them to the Minister and ask him to revert to the Senator directly.