HEALTH:A DUBLIN delegate spoke of her battle with breast cancer as the conference criticised the health services.
Monica Harford, Dublin, said that May would mark the fourth anniversary of her surgery for breast cancer, having been detected through BreastCheck. She said that screening, where it was available, was a valuable service.
“Now, delegates, I can tell you off by heart what the reply the HSE will give. The punchline will be: it would be much more difficult to establish a clear reading on a screening of a younger person due to various reasons.” Ms Harford said that her 35-year-old daughter, who was considered to be an at-risk case, could only be facilitated through private medicine.
“If one young person’s life is saved, then that is a job well done.” Marie Moloney (Kerry South) said that the worst of the Government’s decisions in the health area was to end the cancer vaccine services for teenage girls.
“The programme, announced last August, was designed to protect young girls from this disease in later life. Within months, the programme was withdrawn.”
Ms Moloney said that the decision was made to save an estimated €10 million.
“But I must ask: what savings? This decision will cost lives.”
Mayor of Sligo Veronica Cawley said there was an excellent cancer care service unit in her county. People were being asked to travel to Galway for a centre of excellence, she said. “People in Sligo have to make a daily round-trip to Galway for six weeks.
“If you were in the best of your health, and had to make that round-trip, you would be sick.”
Gráinne Kilmurray, Dublin North, said she had worked in the healthcare service for more than 17 years and had never seen it as bad as it was today. She said the Government had introduced new moves to allow the elderly and disabled people stay in their homes with dignity.
“Eighteen months later, they are taking it all back. Why should a 70 or 80 or 90-year-old person fight and have to beg local government for one hour of care in the day to help them get out of bed, to have a shower or to have something to eat?”
Ian Morrisson, Meath, called for an upgrading of the mental health services.
“One in four of us will suffer from a mental illness at some time in our lives, and the World Health Organisation has estimated that the global health burden has outweighed that of Aids, malaria and TB,” he said.
