Cancer appointments cancelled at UHG despite promises

Appointments for cancer patients continue to be cancelled at University Hospital Galway (UHG), a so-called cancer centre of excellence.

Galway West TD Catherine Connolly (Ind) said that the cancellation of cancer outpatient appointments was still ongoing at the city hospital – despite assurances that staffing shortages would be solved and rectify the problem last summer.

Deputy Connolly raised the matter with Simon Harris in Dáil Éireann this week but the Health Minister did not indicate how many cancer appointments were cancelled at UHG, or the reasons why they did not proceed as planned.

In the first six months of last year, some 1,000 cancer patients had their appointments at oncology clinics postponed by the hospital due to staff shortages.

It translated as 50 cancer appointments postponed per week. When Deputy Connolly raised the issue, while still a City Councillor, last year, she was given assurances that the staff shortages would be addressed by July 2015.

She was told that the practice of postponing appointments at short notice, sometimes just a day or two before the appointment, would cease.

But since being elected a TD, and particularly in the past few weeks, Deputy Connolly has had more representations about cancer appointments being postponed.

The scale of the postponements this year, hasn’t been established, however, and the reasons for them also remain unclear.

Deputy Connolly said: “Last year, they were cancelling cancer outpatients all of the time. When I was a Councillor, on the HSE West Regional Health Forum, I was told that the reason for the cancellations was to do with staffing. I was told that the problem would be sorted in July of last year.

“As a TD, I have now received more representations from constituents, which indicate the practice of cancelling cancer outpatients’ clinics is still ongoing,” she added.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.