Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State but I am extremely disappointed, as are sarcoma patients listening to this from their hospital beds in St. Vincent's University Hospital and from home along with their families and carers. I had hoped and expected the Minister for Health to be here but he is not so I guess I will just have to get on with what we have and deal with it. I thank the Leader for organising this debate for today. It is just unfortunate that the Minister is not here.

In June 2016, I said in this Chamber:

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.

I made this statement in June 2016. I quoted it because the first point I want to make today is about the unacceptable length of time it has taken to try to sort out this issue. It holds a particular place in my heart because it was the first issue I took on when I got elected.

In July 2016 in his office, the Minister for Health met with those seriously ill patients and gave the imprimaturfor a specialist sarcoma consultant. The hospital had a wonderful consultant, Dr. Alexia Bertuzzi, but for some reason, the board of the hospital did not see fit to allow her to continue in her locum post or a temporary post moving to a permanent post. The hospital did eventually and reluctantly advertise the post after the Minister gave the imprimatur. It would appear that the management had no intention of following the Minister's instructions. Years of friction at St. Vincent's University Hospital are well known. Perhaps the Minister of State has noted my loss of patience but the loss of patience on the part of patients is more significant and I am their voice in Leinster House. I have been trying to shout about their case for almost four and a half years.

How the whole saga unfolded involved the recruitment process and the members of the hospital's board of management who were possibly professionally vulnerable and could not see that they already had an expert in the country and decided that this person was not fit to fill that role. A lovely man named David Wilkins contacted me and very bravely told me about his struggles. He is in St. Vincent's University Hospital at the moment. He told me about the indignity of being so sick. This year alone, he has had three major surgeries for treatment of sarcoma. His demand is so modest for someone in the midst of such personal struggle. He told me that out of the more than 3,000 consultants in the HSE, all patients want is one specialist.

The second point I wish to make concerns a fundamental flaw regarding this issue. We give millions of euro to St. Vincent's University Hospital and have done so over the decades. According to the HSE's own policies, external recruitment candidates are required to take up duty within three months. I repeat that these candidates must take up duty within three months of receipt of a formal offer of employment.Furthermore, the HSE reserves the right to withdraw an offer of employment should appointees fail to meet these timeframes. However, as the Minister of State noted, St. Vincent's University Hospital stated it is a voluntary hospital which operates its own recruitment and has full discretion over appointments. We are paying it out of public funds. A letter from Ireland East Hospital Group in response to a request for an oncologist stated that recruitment at St. Vincent's University Hospital is conducted in line with legislation and best practice and in accordance with the terms and conditions set down by the HSE. Waiting for two and a half years for a person to take up a post does not fall within the terms and conditions of the HSE. I am sure the panel that was formed, if any, has long since gone out of date. I am unsure whether that could be investigated further.

A recruitment process has been started. I urge the Minister of State to go back to the Minister, Deputy Harris, and tell him to ensure an appointment is made in a timely manner because the patients are suffering. There are 200 new cases each year and there is no specialist in the hospital. I am unsure whether that constitutes neglect of duty by the hospital or whether the families of the patients who have died have any recourse. The duty of care is not being taken seriously. I hope a candidate is speedily recruited. I waited more than four years for that to happen, as have the patients. There is something rotten somewhere. I will not state where I think it is, but the Minister of State will probably be able to guess at that from my response. I ask him to, please, protect these patients. The role of a Minister of Health is to protect public health and patients' interests. He needs to slap down with a hard hand and get this appointment done.