'New normal' of reduced cancer services completely unacceptable - Irish Cancer Society
A ‘new normal’ of reduced cancer services because of new Covid restrictions or insufficient funding would be completely unacceptable, the Irish Cancer Society has said.
Ireland’s cancer community face becoming the ‘forgotten C’ during this pandemic unless action is taken now.
Responding to details contained in a briefing document for Health Minister Stephen Donnelly reported in the media today, Irish Cancer Society Director of Advocacy Rachel Morrogh said:
“It is clear that the double whammy of chronic underfunding and Covid restrictions could lead to delayed diagnosis and treatment for cancer patients. Anything less than the full resourcing and investment needed to avoid this situation is unacceptable. Cancer patients need to be diagnosed and treated at the earliest opportunity so they stand the best chance of survival and having a good quality of life.
“The warnings from Department of Health officials to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly TD, echo calls made by the Irish Cancer Society over recent years that cancer services are extremely vulnerable and have been unable to meet demand for referrals, leading to long waiting lists well before Covid.
“However, with significant and immediate investment in physical space and resourcing it may be possible to prevent this prediction from becoming a reality.
“We urge the Minister to urgently commit the necessary funding to cancer services. The Programme for Government says that the National Cancer Strategy will be fully implemented. If significant investment is not made this year, the National Cancer Strategy will not be implemented and cancer patients will continue to experience worse outcomes than other European countries. We are currently in the lower half of the OECD league table of cancer deaths in the EU**. We need to move from laggard to leader in the area of cancer care. Only investment in the National Cancer Strategy will achieve that.”
