Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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380. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to expand care in the community to provide mobile treatment services for chemotherapy and dialysis as is the practice in the UK and other European countries (details supplied). [12733/20]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Chemotherapy, or Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy (SACT), is delivered in 26 hospitals across the country. There are also a number of community SACT services, including:

- the HSE's National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) community oncology nursing programme which trains community nurses to become competent to deliver some aspects of care to oncology patients in the community;

- community infusion clinics providing services for oncology patients such as low-risk infusions, pre-SACT blood tests, nursing assessments and supportive care for patients delivered by Community Intervention Teams (CITs); and

- the provision of SACT directly to patients by third party/private providers under contract with the hospitals/HSE

These community SACT services operate under clear governance structures and the patient remains under the care of their medical oncology or haematology acute hospital team.  Policies, procedures, protocols and guidelines (PPPGs ) are in place and include an evaluation process to ensure that the care is delivered safely, and that patients are continuously monitored.

The NCCP advises that enhancing these services and exploring the possibility of using some of the 29 community hubs, for example in oral anticancer medication management, would be a more appropriate option than the use of mobile facilities at this time.