Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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481. To ask the Minister for Health the progress regarding the second breast surgeon consultant post at Letterkenny University Hospital; his plans to deploy and utilise the post on a cross-Border basis in collaboration with Altnagelvin area hospital, Derry; the nature of discussions that have taken place to date between both service providers involved about the post; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23255/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Breast Cancer Service at Letterkenny University Hospital operates as a satellite centre of University Hospital Galway. The service is run by a single consultant who also undertakes general surgery at the hospital, and it is augmented by locum consultants and by Galway-based Saolta consultants.

At present, efforts are being made to recruit a full-time locum consultant surgeon to deal with the demands on the service. Consideration continues to be given to longer-term measures to meet the future requirements of the service, and staffing at consultant and other levels will be among the issues to be considered. As part of this, the possibility of further cooperation with health services in Northern Ireland is being considered by Saolta, the NCCP and the Department, building on the co-operation achieved in relation to the North West Cancer Centre at Altnagelvin Hospital, Derry.