Vital cancer scanner still not in use 3 years on

HUNDREDS of cancer patients are still being forced to travel across the country for treatment because vital medical equipment which cost the state almost €4 million three years ago continues to be mothballed.

Despite repeated claims by the former and current governments that the PET/CT (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner at Cork University Hospital (CUH) is being brought online, the Irish Examiner has learned the equipment is still unavailable to seriously ill patients.

The scanner — which takes a detailed 3-D image of cancerous growths, significantly helping doctors with their treatment prognoses — is one of just two available in the public system, with the other based in St James’s Hospital in Dublin.