Temporary oncology unit at UHK is 'wholly inadequate' for the number of patients, charity warns

Comfort for Chemo Kerry called on health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to support the service, asking her 'to expedite HSE capital funding approval for the planned permanent Oncology & Haematology Unit at UHK'. Picture: Dan Linehan

A €2m temporary unit offering cancer care in Tralee is “wholly inadequate” for the number of patients being seen there, patient group Comfort for Chemo Kerry has warned.

Set up at University Hospital Kerry (UHK) in 2023, the unit is overcrowded, the group said as they called for government funding to urgently address this.

“The ward space re-enabled as an interim oncology unit in 2023 at the hospital is wholly inadequate capacity wise,” the group said.

It called on health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to support the service, asking her “to expedite HSE capital funding approval for the planned permanent Oncology & Haematology Unit at UHK”.

Mikey Sheehy, committee member with the support group, said Kerry has seen a rise in patient numbers as diagnosis of cancer improves and more patients live longer.

“The service has exploded over the last 20-odd years,” he said.

 “We’re dealing then with an interim oncology unit that’s currently struggling to meet its current capacity.

There’s a requirement in our eyes as a charity to future-proof services with the expansion of the service, and provision of a standalone unit in the grounds of University Hospital Kerry.

He stressed the group is not raising concerns about the quality of care. However he pointed out that a specialised type of chemotherapy cannot be given in Tralee due to lack of space.

“There’s a key frustration in that we have on site two consultants and also a clinical nurse specialist, but we still have patients who have to travel to Cork who could be accommodated by those consultants here,” he said.

The campus is large enough for expansion, he said, contrasting the site with more crowded hospital sites in Cork and Limerick.

Mr Sheehy, a Fianna Fáil councillor and member of the Regional Health Forum South, said there is frustration locally at delays to promised construction.

“We would love if there was a greater drive and energy to produce this for both Kerry and the Southwest,” he said.

The Tralee hospital is part of HSE Southwest. The cancer unit is a satellite unit of Cork University Hospital (CUH).

"HSE South West have plans in place to build a new standalone oncology unit, to address the increasing demand for cancer services in Kerry", a spokeswoman said.

There has been investment in cancer in recent years, including €2.2m in 2023 to establish an interim oncology unit.

She added: “The plan for the new standalone oncology unit was revised, and is now a larger development in a new location. HSE Southwest remains committed to delivering on this once funding is secured.” 

The Irish Cancer Society last week welcomed CUH’s record in meeting targets for seeing urgent cancer cases. However it raised some concerns about key performance indicators (KPIs) for non-urgent referrals.

The HSE said: “CUH continues to perform strongly in meeting key performance indicators for urgent referrals, and their focus now is on meeting the KPIs for non-urgent referrals.”