No State funding for public cancer patients

PUBLIC patients are having to rely on a voluntary trust to pay for their life-saving cancer treatment at Limerick’s new radiotherapy unit, it was confirmed yesterday.

The Health Service Executive Mid-West came under fire over failing to allocate funding for the treatment of public patients at the new unit at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital.

Minister for Health Mary Harney and Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley have given assurances that public patients would be paid for by the State.

But the cost of treating public patients has been borne by the Mid-Western Hospital Development Trust since the unit opened on October 27 last.

The trust financed the €8.6 million capital costs for the unit with the help of a huge cash injection from the JP McManus Invitation Golf Pro-Am. The trust has also agreed to provide a further €8m in running costs over the first five years.

The Department of Health originally refused to designate Limerick as a centre for radiotherapy treatment and was forced into a U-turn when the hospital trust said it would finance the entire project and pay for its running.

A member of the newly-formed Western Health Authority said yesterday that the government was doing a lot of “crowing” about the unit, but still hadn’t given a single euro towards it.

Cllr Richard Butler said it was a disgrace that a voluntary trust had to dig deep into its own resources to pay for the treatment of public patients.

He said: “Private patients are covered by their insurers. But the trust has to pay the Mater Private Hospital which runs the unit for pubic patients. This unit is a huge health resource. As well as helping save life, it saves the government huge sums of money with patients not having to travel and stay for long periods for radiotherapy sessions in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

“Patients can go in for a treatment and go home afterwards.”

He said that before the unit opened, many women from the Mid-West, particularly mothers of young children, declined to undergo radiotherapy as it meant having to stay away from home for long periods.

“As a result people died or had to undergo very rigorous surgery having not availed of radiotherapy. Now we have radiotherapy in mid-west and the HSE is dragging its heals in coming up with money to cover the treatment of public patients,” Mr Butler said.

A spokesperson for the trust refused to comment other than saying they were very positive about talks which are ongoing.

On a visit to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital last year, Ms Harney said public patients will have to have access to the radiotherapy unit and resources would be made available to make that happen.

However, she said funding was a matter for the HSE.

Up to 95% of patients needing radiotherapy treatment in the mid-west can be catered for at the new unit in Limerick.

A HSE spokesperson said last night: “The matter is still under consideration.”