Health

Cancer patients facing delayed diagnoses and lower quality of life due to funding shortfall, says Irish Cancer Society

Society claims cumulative loss of investment in cancer services from 2017 to 2024 is almost €180m

Prof Michaela Higgins, president of the Irish Society for Medical Oncology, said healthcare staff were 'hampered' in delivering optimal care to cancer patients by 'the lack of sufficient people, capacity and resources in the system'

Shauna Bowers
Wed Jun 19 2024 - 06:00

Patients are experiencing delayed cancer diagnoses, poorer prognosis and a lower quality of life due to a €180 million shortfall in funding for the National Cancer Strategy, a representative group has said.

The Irish Cancer Society said there was a “real human cost” to cancer, and called for a significant increase in funding in the forthcoming budget.

The National Cancer Control Programme’s annual budget for implementation of the National Cancer Strategy should have increased incrementally over the past eight years to be €110 million higher in 2024 than in 2016, according to the HSE. The actual incremental increase has been €65 million. As a result the cumulative loss of investment in cancer services from 2017 to 2024 is almost €180 million, the Irish Cancer Society said.

Speaking in advance of the launch of its pre-budget submission, Averil Power, chief executive of the Irish Cancer Society, said as a result of this “people are dying who shouldn’t be, and those who survive are having a poorer quality of life”.

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She said there were a number of consequences, such as screening not being expanded as planned; target waiting times for cancer not being met; cancer surgeries are frequently delayed; and radiotherapy services are operating below capacity.

The society also said clinical trials were falling “far short” of target, and access to new medicines was much slower in Ireland than in other European countries.

Ms Power said there was a need to establish “dedicated cancer pathways” so cancer care was protected from other pressures in the hospital system. Currently, she said, cancer surgeries were often delayed due to a shortage of hospital beds for patients post-surgery.

Prof Michaela Higgins, president of the Irish Society for Medical Oncology, said healthcare staff were “hampered” in delivering optimal care to cancer patients by “the lack of sufficient people, capacity and resources in the system”.

Prof John Kennedy, chairman of the National Cancer Strategy, said he was “deeply concerned about the impact lack of investment in the National Cancer Strategy is having on people with cancer in Ireland”.

The Irish Cancer Society is also urging the Government to address the cost of cancer for patients in Budget 2025, which requires action from several government departments. Recommendations include: the abolition of hospital parking fees, an automatic entitlement to the medical card, and enhanced access to the domiciliary care allowance.

Successive national cancer strategies have delivered continuing improvements in outcomes for Irish cancer patients in terms of earlier diagnosis, better treatment, and improved rates of survival, a spokesman for the Department of Health said.

Since 2017 there has been additional investment of €456 million in cancer services, including €81 million on cancer prevention, screening, and treatment; €316 million on cancer medicines; and €59 million on cancer research grants through the Health Research Board.

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers is Health Correspondent of The Irish Times

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