National Cancer Strategy cannot succeed without increasing the capacity of public hospitals and the resolution of Consultant recruitment crisis according to the IHCA
National Cancer Strategy cannot succeed without increasing the capacity of public hospitals and the resolution of Consultant recruitment crisis according to the IHCA
7th July, 2017: The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) has welcomed the publication of the National Cancer Strategy 2017 – 2026 which includes important recommendations to better equip cancer services and to provide improved care to patients. Dr Tom Ryan, IHCA President, said that the Strategy is timely given the projected increase in cancer incidence at a time when our acute hospitals are struggling after a decade of under-resourcing.
The President of the IHCA said that “the Strategy’s focus on cancer prevention, increased awareness and screening with earlier diagnosis and treatment are critically important. However it will be essential to deal effectively with the widespread shortages of acute hospital beds, operating theatres, intensive care beds, and diagnostic facilities if this proposal is to fully succeed. There is also a parallel need to recruit and retain key medical and ancillary staff in the public health system to realise the benefit of this much needed investment in patient care.” He said that at consultant level this has a significant relevance given the need to recruit and retain specialists in medical and radiation oncology, haematology, dermatology, radiology, pathology, urology, gastroenterology, genetics, surgery, palliative care and psycho-oncology.
“Cancer care and the acute hospital services are vulnerable because the Irish Health Service has become uncompetitive in recruiting high calibre internationally mobile specialists. These difficulties are directly attributable in large measure to the State’s failure to honour the 2008 Consultant Contract and have been exacerbated by the discrimination against new entrant Consultants and the impact of FEMPI cuts. These factors need to be urgently addressed before a generation of talented consultants are lost from our acute hospitals, which will undermine our basic capability to keep pace with contemporary medical practice in cancer care,” said Dr Ryan.
The IHCA President also stressed that the other significant threat to the delivery of improved cancer care and acute hospital services is the overwhelming shortages of acute hospital and ICU beds, theatre operating time and access to modern diagnostic facilities. He said the Association has outlined the pressing need to increase capital investment in our acute hospitals in its submission to the Ministers for Health and Finance, in the context of the Mid Term Review of the Capital Plan 2016 to 2021.
Dr Ryan said that the National Cancer Strategy has also correctly highlighted the capacity and resourcing problems in our health services and the need for increased funding to correct these shortages. However, this much needed funding has yet to be provided for in the Capital Plan. “The failure to address the shortages of essential infrastructure and replace obsolete equipment in our hospitals is already undermining the standard of care provided to patients. This is quite obvious not only in the failure to achieve cancer key performance indicators, but also in the unacceptable surgical waiting lists, with more than 85,000 patients waiting for elective surgery.”
ENDS
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