Cancer treatment centre closures to boost quality of care, says Harney

SOME cancer treatment centres in Ireland must close if a proper standard of care is to be delivered, Health Minister, Mary Harney said yesterday.

She told a patient safety conference in Dublin that all cancer services must be centralised to ensure patients receive the highest quality of care. But, she stressed, world-class cancer services could not be provided in every hospital, and she called on the public, healthcare professions and trade unions to support the development of designated cancer treatment centres.

She said it was time to end the conflict over having everything at local level, and quality. The latter was the only option, she said, adding that patients faced with a choice of local services would choose the high-quality option every time.