The Midland Health Board will meet later today to discuss the location of breast cancer services in the region. Fears that Portlaoise would lose its cancer treatment unit to a new unit in Tullamore Hospital led to street protests 18 months ago.
The decision to hold the meeting was made after the board's chief executive officer, Mr Denis Doherty, reminded members of a report from a board sub-group to the National Cancer Forum.
This report, he said, had arrived too late for inclusion on the agenda of the last meeting. While the report did not make any firm recommendation on where the unit should be located, it said "there would be a case to be made for locating the breast unit in Tullamore because of its geographical location in the health board region".
It also said the peripheral location of Portlaoise in the health board area might militate against achieving the critical mass of patients required to keep it open.
The location of cancer services in the midlands has been a serious issue for the board during the last couple of years. A report by Prof Donal Hollywood, the regional director of cancer services, sought to develop a strategy for cancer treatment in the midlands where 80 per cent of patients are currently being treated outside the board's area.
The Hollywood report envisaged Tullamore General Hospital playing the lead role in chemotherapy services in the region. This led to the protests in Co Laois.
An alliance of Laois, Westmeath and Longford board members decided in April 1988 that cancer services in the area should be dispersed.
However, a year later this decision was reversed when members were told they would either have to develop the service in Tullamore or have no services. The board stressed that only the chemotherapy service was being centralised and patients would continue to be admitted to the other board hospitals in Portlaoise and Mullingar for diagnosis and surgery.
But the future of the existing breast cancer service at Portlaoise, which was one of the first of its kind in the country, is still unresolved.
It is a political hot potato for Fianna Fail which will hold its selection convention in Portlaoise on October 15th.
Deputy John Moloney, who has fought to retain the Portlaoise unit, feels that Fianna Fail, which has two seats in the county and three in the constituency, will lose heavily if Portlaoise loses its unit.