The Western Neurosurgery Campaign has criticised the review of neurosurgical services which has advised against setting up a third unit in Galway.
Fine Gael Galway east senator Ulick Burke has also expressed "severe disappointment" at the recommendation by Comhairle na nOspidéal for the Health Service Executive (HSE), and says he intends to raise it in the Seanad this week.
Senator Burke has urged Minister for Health Mary Harney to ignore the recommendation, and to support long-standing demands for a neurosurgery service in Galway which would serve the western seaboard.
The long-awaited review by Comhairle na n-Ospidéal, details of which were published in last week's HealthSupplement, found that there were severe deficiencies in the current provision of neurosurgery in the Republic and recommended significant investment in the two existing units at Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, and Cork University Hospital.
It highlighted long waiting times for emergency/urgent referrals, with potential morbidity and mortality consequences for patients, and also said that there were lengthy waiting lists for non-emergency admissions. The waiting list for Beaumont in-patient neurosurgery stood at 426 cases in September 2005, with more than half of these cases on the list for over a year.
The report referred to the extreme difficulty experienced by regional hospitals in effecting transfers of patients for neurosurgery, and said that the lack of a helipad at either Beaumont or Cork University Hospital "seriously inhibited" use of air transport. It recommended installation of helipads, investment in more staff and better diagnostic services - specifically stating that Dublin's consultant numbers should be increased from six to 10, and Cork's from three to six.
Pat O'Dwyer, a US supporter of the Western Neurosurgery Campaign, said that she was "truly sad" to see people in the west of Ireland who paid the same taxes being denied equality regarding health.
"Galway now has proper cardiac and cancer care, after long campaigns, and neurosurgery is the one missing piece in the jigsaw," she said. "Everyone knows about that vital golden hour in terms of treatment for a serious head injury, and that is why a service on the west coast is so vitally important."
Ms O'Dwyer is wife of the late Paul O'Dwyer, who founded the O'Dwyer Cheshire Home in Bohola, Co Mayo, and pledged to raise $1 million for a neurosurgery unit if it was approved for University College Hospital, Galway.
Senator Burke said that he objected in particular to the review group's suggestion that a Galway unit would have a negative effect on the Cork University Hospital unit's catchment.
"If Galway is being caught up in a turf war between consultants in Dublin and Cork, at the expense of people's lives, I would hope that the Minister for Health would address that and endorse a unit for the west," he said.
