Extra cancer staff approved

THREE hospital consultant posts and eight support staff positions are to be created by the Health Service Executive to bolster breast cancer services in the mid-west.

Regional director of cancer services Professor Jajnish Gupta revealed the posts were sanctioned in the days surrounding the publication of the HIQA report into the Rebecca O’Malley breast cancer misdiagnosis case.

Ms O’Malley attended the Mid-Western Regional Hospital’s breast cancer unit. Her diagnosis was delayed for a year after the Cork University Hospital laboratory misread test results. Her needle biopsy tests were sent to Cork in March 2005.

Professor Gupta has campaigned for years on the need for greater investment in cancer services in the mid-west. He has also complained to the Department of Health about standards of care at Barringtons, a nearby private hospital.

“We’ve had a difficult time at the Mid-Western Regional with all of these reviews, especially the HIQA review... We were examined due to an error that occurred in Cork but I believe the reviews illustrate that we provide a good service,” said Prof Gupta.

The HIQA review criticised management practices at the Mid-Western Regional and also the levels of communication between the hospital and CUH.

“In this hospital and region, we are working extremely hard with limited resources.

“So, we are delighted that in the last two weeks we have received a major injection of staff with letters approving the recruitment of a new consultant surgeon, a consultant pathologist and a consultant radiologist and eight other ancillary staff.

“All of these staff are for breast cancer. The sudden injection just illustrates how deficient and overstretched we were in the first place,” he added.

The hospital hope to fill the positions within a year.

Referring to Patient A’s revelation yesterday that the Department of Health had questioned “quality care assurances” at Barringtons in 2005, said Prof Gupta: “It just illustrates that all the concerns that I had brought to the department about Barringtons were justified.

“It is an independent confirmation of my concerns. It also demonstrates that they knew a long time ago that there were problems that needed to be fixed.”