Mayo appeal for delivery of new cancer care centre for the west
A Mayo Oireachtas member has appealed for a new cancer care facility for the western region after visiting University Hospital Galway to meet cancer specialist Professor Michael Kerin and his team.
Professor Kerin is the lead oncologist overseeing cancer care for the entire west and northwest region.
Speaking afterwards, Senator Lisa Chambers said: “The hospital in Galway deals with all complex cancer care and surgeries for the west and northwest, with many Mayo patients attending there for care on a weekly basis.
“Professor Kerin and his team are doing tremendous work but there is no denying that they are working in substandard conditions with very old building, many of which were supposed to be temporary prefabs when they were built decades ago.
“They are dealing with a high volume of patients and the current facilities are not fit for purpose, it is unsustainable, and a challenging environment in which to deliver world class care to patients in the region.”
“There are a number of old prefabs and buildings dotted around the site that are simply not fit for purpose.
"It is in the National Development Plan to deliver a new cancer centre at UHG but movement on the project has been slow to date.
“Cancer care is competing for beds with emergency and elective care at UHG, which is not the way we want to run services.
"This sometimes results in cancer surgeries being delayed or rescheduled where there is a shortage of beds.
“Ireland had the highest incidence of cancer in the EU-27 in 2020.
"The National Health Quality Reporting System 2019 found that survival rates from Breast and Lung cancer patients in the west/northwest region are worse than the national average.
"The five-year survival rate for breast cancer in the east of the country is 86%, in the west this figure drops to 80%. It is totally unacceptable to have this disparity in cancer outcomes between the regions.
“The bottom line is that if we do not develop a fit for purpose Cancer Centre at University Hospital Galway, we cannot deliver the quality cancer care that we want to deliver and can deliver. We must do better for patients in the west.
“Doctors and nurses working in cancer care in the west support this project.
"It is government policy to deliver a state-of-the-art specialist cancer centre in Galway to serve the entire region.
"Now we need the project to be advanced without further delay.
"Balanced regional development in healthcare facilities is essential to ensure that citizens of the west and northwest region are provided with the same care as those living in the east and south," she added.