Cancer Services Cannot Wait Till End of 2021 to Fully Resume
Aontú Leader & Meath West TD Peadar Tóibín has criticised the proposed plan by the HSE which will mean Cancer Services will only fully return come the end of 2021.
An Teachta Tóibín:
“Throughout this pandemic, Cancer screening services and Cancer Treatment have been routinely suspended. How Cancer Treatment and Cancer Screening is not considered essential healthcare is beyond me. The key to cancer treatment and screening is to catch the Cancer as early as possible. This gives the best chances to stop the Cancer and significantly improves survival rates. The announcement that under the HSE’s pandemic plan, Cancer services will not return fully till the end of 2021 flies in the face of that wisdom. Already, there are people who now have significantly advanced cancer because of missed screenings, delayed diagnoses and delated treatment. This will lead to increased mortality and morbidity. As if to make matters worse, this unacceptably late resumption is also contingent upon no further surges as well. So these services may not fully resume until the start of 2022 if things don’t improve.”
“As someone who knows the stress and anxiety of fighting Cancer all too well myself, this cannot continue. To give people the best chances of survival and to fight cancer diagnoses, we need to immediately resume Cancer screening and treatment services in full. Furthermore, additional resources also need to be provided to immediately clear backlogs and waiting lists. The threat of Cancer cannot be underestimated or ignored.”
