Campaign seeks support of every home

SIGNATURES will be sought from every household in Waterford in an effort to increase support for a date for the arrival of the BreastCheck screening service.

The campaign for the service gathered momentum on Saturday when hundreds of women turned out in the city centre for a protest march organised by the Women of Waterford (WoW) lobby group.

Now those behind the effort plan to organise a petition in support of BreastCheck for Waterford, and are also hoping for an urgent meeting with the health authorities.

Speakers at Saturday’s march, which saw protesters marching from the Old Infirmary to John Roberts’ Square, repeatedly underlined the fact that Waterford was first promised a date for the BreastCheck mobile screening service in 2002.

Since then, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern told campaigners last year that the facility would soon be arriving in the city, while Health Minister Mary Harney told deputy mayor Mary O’Halloran earlier in the year that a date was imminent.

However, more than six years after the initial promise, there is still no sign of the Breastcheck service arriving in Waterford.

The screening programme has already visited nearby towns and cities such as Dungarvan, Kilkenny and Clonmel but women living in the Waterford city catchment area have to pay privately to have routine screening, or else wait until possible symptoms of breast cancer arrive before they can be tested at Waterford Regional Hospital.

“When are we getting it?” said Waterford Hospice committee member and WoW co-founder Marie Cummins after Saturday’s protest. “We’re supposed to be getting it since 2002 and here we are now, nearly into 2009.”

Other speakers included city mayor Cllr Jack Walsh, deputy mayor Cllr Mary O’Halloran, Cllr Seamus Ryan, and Dr Eithne Brenner of the Brenner Clinic.

“We’re looking for a meeting with the health executive,” said Ms Cummins. “We’re not going to stop at this. We’re going to keep going until we get the answers we’re looking for.”

Saturday’s event included banners bearing messages for BreastCheck, the HSE and the Department of Health. “They know how we feel about it, and how much anger there is about this in Waterford. Now we’re going to get a petition together so they know we’re going to keep at it.”