HSE to upgrade Donegal cancer service

The Health Service Executive has decided to maintain and develop breast care services at Letterkenny General Hospital in conjunction with the regional breast care unit at Galway Regional Hospitals.

This will allow for a managed clinical network to be established, operating to defined standards and protocols for a symptomatic breast disease service, according to the HSE.

The HSE intends to appoint a permanent surgeon with a special interest in breast surgery who will be primarily based at the Letterkenny Hospital.

The decision was taken following a review of the options for breast services in Co Donegal.

Local campaigners had claimed that patients were being forced to travel to Dublin or Belfast for services that should be available closer to home.