It’s emerged that only 31% of newly diagnosed cancer patients at Letterkenny University Hospital begin their cancer treatment within the recommended time of 15 working days.
This compared to 62% in University Hospital Galway, 76% in Sligo and 100% in Mayo.
The figures were provided to Cllr Declan Meehan, who described the situation as an abdication of responsibility.
He was told that four new treatment bays were commissioned in Letterkenny’s Day Services Unit last year, and a new treatment facility is being planned for Letterkenny.
Cllr Meehan says that process must be speeded up……..
Cllr Meehan’s statement in full –
Letterkenny University Hospital has the worst waiting times for cancer treatment in the West and North West.
Cllr. Declan Meehan has criticised the HSE regarding cancer treatment waiting times in Donegal, namely at Letterkenny University Hospital. The information was
provided by the HSE at a Regional Health Forum on Tuesday afternoon. Cllr. Meehan is a Donegal representative on the Forum.
Cllr. Meehan asked about the time it takes from decision and/or consent to treat cancer patients to their treatment commencing. The answer stated that the HSE
guidelines recommend and endeavour to treat patients within 15 working days. The answer also showed that only 31% of patients in LUH are receiving
treatment within this timeline. This compared to 62% in Galway University Hospital, 76% and 78% at Sligo and Portiuncula, and 100% of patients in Mayo.
“With only 31% of patients commencing cancer treatment within the specified guidelines and recommended timeframes, this is yet another example of patients
of LUH being left behind and treated as second-class citizens” Meehan said. “It is staggering that 100% of patients can be seen within three working weeks in
Mayo, but not in Donegal. All evidence shows that for every four-week delay in treatment commencing there are significantly negative effects on the patients’
outcomes. This simply means that cancer patients in Donegal are subject to higher risks and poorer outcomes, and this is unacceptable.”
The HSE said it recently added four more treatment bays as an extension to the day ward on the in-patient ward. Meehan said this was clearly not good enough.
“We need to see real progress on this issue, and we need to see it being treated with the urgency it deserves. We have the second highest rate of new cancer
diagnoses in the EU. We have the third highest cancer mortality rate in Western Europe.”
The HSE confirmed that the avergae wait time for commencement of treatment in Letterkenny was 22 working days, which is almost 50% longer than all patients in
Mayo. “This is once again another example of peripheral hospitals – particularly Letterkenny – being left behind because they are far away from the centre of power and decision-making in the healthcare group. Substandard care based on geography in 2025 is unacceptable.
How many times does this need to be repeated and reiterated to the HSE? How many examples does the HSE need of LUH and Donegal being left behind before they take meaningful action?”
Seán Murphy, Manager of LUH, stated that this is an area of priority for the management of LUH, and that a specific task group is in place to try and bring down the wait times for treatment by increasing capacity in the hospital. Cllr. Meehan said that he would continue to raise this issue until such time that people in Donegal, by virtue of their location, would not be at such a significant disadvantage.
