Lynch ‘embarrassed’ by civil servants’ lack of response on idle scanner

A GOVERNMENT minister refused to explain why vital cancer equipment at Cork University Hospital (CUH) has been repeatedly delayed because the lack of any information from civil servants has left her “embarrassed”.

Minister of State at the Department of Health, Kathleen Lynch, took the highly unorthodox step during a late-night Dáil adjournment debate on the multimillion-euro PET-CT scanner on Wednesday.

As revealed by the Irish Examiner last week, the Health Service Executive finally authorised the appointment of four key staff to run the scanner — which cost €3.8 million when it was purchased in early 2009 — last November.

However, seven months on, none of these positions have been filled, with three of them not even advertised.

As a result, more than 200 cancer patients have been forced to make costly return journeys to St James’s Hospital in Dublin to use the only other available PET-CT scanner in the public health service.

Fine Gael TD Denis Stanton, who has repeatedly raised concerns over the delays in the past, tabled a question on the matter in the Dáil on Wednesday night.

However, Ms Lynch told the Dáil she would not read out the response of the civil servants as it failed to address any of the issues involved.

“It probably is unusual for ministers to not read out their scripts ... but having heard what the deputy had to say, were I to do so I would be embarrassed,” she said.

“I believe the reply is precisely the same as that which the deputy has been getting all through the years,” Ms Lynch continued, adding that she will be seeking clarity on the issue over the coming days.

Reacting to the move, Mr Stanton, who represents Roscommon–South Leit-rim, said cancer patients are continuing to suffer needlessly because of the constant delays in making the vital CUH equipment available.

“I am very concerned that the PET-CT scanner is still not up and running,” he said.

“The decision to acquire the scanner was made in 2008 and planning for the new unit was granted in 2008. Construction was completed almost two years ago, yet personnel have still not been appointed to staff the unit.

“I hope that posts will be advertised and filled without delay. Until this happens, thousands of patients from Cork and Kerry, many of whom are seriously ill, will continue to be forced to travel to Dublin for PET-CT scans. Not only is this extremely inconvenient for patients, it incurs a needless cost on the HSE South — up to €1m by September 2010 — when a brand new unit is lying idle in CUH.”

The scanners provide a detailed 3D image of a cancerous growth. While six are available in private hospitals across Ireland, only two — at CUH and St James’s — are on offer in the public health service.