Lifesaving cancer treatments denied to public patients due to lengthy delays for HSE approval
Irish Cancer Society chief executive Averil Power said it was incredibly unfair some patients were getting the latest, groundbreaking cancer treatments while others were being left behind.
Public cancer patients are being denied access to potentially lifesaving treatments by up to two years because of red-tape — an issue which must be addressed by the incoming government.
The call came from the Irish Cancer Society, which warned Ireland's two-tiered cancer drug access system means about 30-40% of the new groundbreaking European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved cancer drugs available in private hospitals today are currently not available to public patients.
Private patients have swift access to cancer drugs. But for a cancer drug to be available to all patients, it must be approved by the HSE and made available through Ireland’s drug reimbursement scheme, a lengthy process which on average takes two years.
“Today’s cancer patients do not have two years to wait,” Dr Michael McCarthy, consultant medical oncologist at University Hospital Galway, said.
Dr McCarthy, who specialises in the treatment of head and neck, and gynaecological cancers, said as of today, there are six cancer treatments available to private patients he cannot prescribe to his public patients.
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“Increasingly, the first thing I ask a cancer patient is, ‘do you have health insurance?’,” he said.
“When I see a new patient, or an old patient whose cancer has progressed, until now my job has always been to identify the best possible treatment option for them and then to organise that treatment.
“However, now my main concern is which cancer treatments I can possibly access for them.
The public-private access divide will continue to widen, he said.
In February 2023, the Department of Health issued a review of the drug reimbursement process, with recommendations including increased staffing to improve the efficiency of the process, and a publicly available tracker with timelines to increase the transparency of the process.
But the Irish Cancer Society said more must be done both nationally and at European level to accelerate equal access to cancer drugs for patients.
Chief executive Averil Power said it was incredibly unfair some patients were getting the latest, groundbreaking cancer treatments while others were being left behind.
“We’re urging the next government to give cancer patients the time they deserve by investing in the National Cancer Strategy and improving access,” she said.
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