Ó Caoláin slams centralisation of radiation services

Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Sinn Féin Health spokesperson Caoimhghin Ó Caoláin criticised the delay it took for statements to be heard on Radiation Oncology Services since the Health Minister's report was published on 9 October last year.

He was also highly critical of the decision to centralise these services, vital for cancer patients, in just three cities in the state. "While the report examined different models, including more decentralised and diversified services, it went for the centralised option, in line with the Hanly Report and with the whole thrust of current Government health delivery policy," he said.

"I accept that there are many considerations specific to radiation oncology delivery and, of course, such services cannot be provided in every hospital. But the recommended configuration leaves out huge swathes of the country with seriously ill cancer patients having to travel long distances for essential and often painful and distressing treatment.

"The Cancer Care Alliance, whose work I commend, has identified this massive shortcoming in the Report and has called for radiotherapy provision in other centres in addition to Dublin, Cork and Galway. I support that call. I regret that the report does not recommend radiation oncology units in the Northeastern, Southeastern and North Western regions. It acknowledges the aspiration in my own region, the Northeast, for such a unit. But it is more than an aspiration. It is a vital need."