Cancer strategy for the West outlined

Plans are progressing to develop a centralised ‘comprehensive cancer centre’ to cater for the West and North West region.

The ‘vision’ for a cancer centre, which would streamline services to cancer patients in Galway and the west, was outlined this week by chair of the Cancer Strategy Group, Professor Michael J Kerin.

Professor Kerin outlined the position on the planned new cancer centre, which he expects to be in place within a decade, in the Saolta University Health Care Group annual report for 2013, which includes Galway University Hospitals (GUH) and Portiuncula Hospital.

There were more than 254,000 outpatient attendances in GUH, including Merlin Park and University Hospital Galway.

According to the annual report, of those, 37,804 were by patients who were newly diagnosed with cancer in 2013. These patients were seen in most specialties across the hospital and account for 15% of activity in the GUH outpatient department.

There were 8,068 inpatient episodes of care for cancer patients recorded at GUH. There were 26,689 episodes of chemotherapy for cancer patient across the group, which includes hospitals in Mayo, Sligo, Donegal and Roscommon.

According to the report, the aim of the Cancer Strategy Group is to develop a cancer centre over the next decade. The report highlights the need for a centre and defines the roadmap.

Putting the case in favour of a dedicated cancer centre, Professor Kerin said: “The development of a functional dedicated cancer centre for the West and North West of Ireland remains a challenge due to the current arrangement whereby the delivery of cancer care is integrated across a large functional network of hospitals. Such an arrangement poses challenges due to competing patient needs, emergency scenarios impacting on elective cancer care and disintegrated functionality. However this is often unavoidable due to the needs of patient flow, intensive care facilities and co-location of cancer and complex clinical care for patients with same system diseases.

“International programmes of cancer care are organised around a physical infrastructure that enhances patient flow, facilitates multidisciplinary working and improves outcomes. There is a compelling argument for the development of a comprehensive cancer centre in this region.

“A cancer centre will allow structured multidisciplinary team work, database integration, access to therapy, expansion of cancer research programmes and improved patient outcomes to be achieved. It will enhance the patient experience and facilitate same day access to diagnostics in the early phase and state of the art treatments later in the pathway of care. The aim of our Cancer Strategy Group is to develop this centre over the next decade. We live in an era of increasing demands, innovation opportunities and translational research which is changing the face of modern cancer care. The integration of these factors into a modern, patient-centred campus or cancer centre is essential and provides a real and achievable goal for our programmes over the next decade.”