No extra funding for colorectal cancer national screening programme

NO extra funding will be made available for a national screening programme for the country’s second most deadly form of cancer, it has been confirmed.

Launching its Government-supported plan to screen anyone between the ages of 55 and 74 for colorectal cancer, the National Cancer Screening Service (NCSS) revealed how the cancer results in 1,900 new cases in Ireland every year and more than 900 deaths.

The plan, developed by the NCSS’s advisory group on colorectal cancer, is expected to cost up to €15 million to develop.

However, speaking to the Irish Examiner a Department of Health spokesperson confirmed the ambitious colorectal screening service will have to be funded “from existing resources” with no additional cash-injections made available.

As a result of the financial constraints, the department has asked the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to draw up a cost-neutral plan for the project by the end of September, with the independent group stating that the plan will not impact negatively on existing services.

But, Fine Gael health spokesperson Dr James Reilly said the fact that the “life-saving” screening plan will not receive additional funding from the system was a serious cause of concern.

“The cancellation of the cervical cancer vaccination programme is a cautionary tale when it comes to Minister Harney’s proposals on colorectal cancer screening,” said the Dublin GP.

“The vaccination programme would have saved 52 lives a year. HIQA’s assessment of colorectal cancer screening suggests it would save more than 320 lives a year for a cost of €15m, considerably less than the €17m the HSE spent on outside consultancy fees last year.

“I would love to be unreservedly welcoming this important screening measure, just like I was set to welcome the roll-out of the cervical cancer vaccination programme.

“We all know what happened to the vaccination programme despite it being shown to be financially deliverable, if the political will existed,” he said.

As part of the NCSS’s colorectal cancer screening programme plans, all people aged between 55 and 74 will be able to avail of a two-yearly screening system in an attempt to identify patients who are yet to show any signs of the disease.

The NCSS has said this screening system should include an initial immunochemical faecal occult blood test (iFOBt), followed by a full colonoscopy for anyone who has a positive result for the disease.

The number of new cases in Ireland is expected to increase by 79% in men and 56% in women by 2020 without the introduction of a viable screening plan.