15 February 2007
Dr. Henry: I welcome the Minister and Professor Drumm. Two worrying reports came to light recently regarding cancer. One was a survey carried out by the Irish Cancer Society in conjunction with the Irish College of General Practitioners. It concerned the views of general practitioners on access to diagnostics, for example, if they suspect a person has cancer, and to specialists in the area. There appeared to be an unacceptable delay, particularly for public patients, and almost 50% of GPs surveyed said they felt private patients had better access to both diagnostics and consultants, which is not a good state of affairs. I gather the Minister intends to give access to general practitioners to diagnostics in private hospitals but has this been costed in comparison with the option of extending the hours in which facilities would be available in public hospitals?
The second report was published in the Annals of Oncology and Professor Peter Boyle was one of its main authors. It concerned the outcome and incidence of cancer in OECD countries. Ireland did very poorly on five-year survival rates, all being below the EU average. It was said that the outcomes in childhood cancers are now very good but that is certainly not the case in adult cancers. The national cancer strategy was launched in September 2006 and made recommendations for specialised centres for every 500,000 people, eight in total. Has there been any progress in implementing the national cancer strategy because it is important to put such facilities in place as soon as possible?
Deputy Cooper-Flynn raised the question of orthodontics. I have been very concerned about the development of the maxillofacial unit in St. James's Hospital. It appears that, because of the level of road accidents and cancer cases, the present facilities are incapable of dealing with serious orthodontic cases, particularly in children with an intellectual disability where there are real problems. Mr. O'Brien might be able to help in this regard.
I am glad Deputy Connolly raised the screening of newborn babies for hearing disabilities. This very important area is another in which we are shamefully behind the rest of the EU. Having seen the ease with which my own granddaughter was screened in London, the difficulties cited for failing to introduce it simply do not exist.
The final point I wish to raise is the secrecy of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which cannot tell us what anything costs because of commercial confidentiality. Can the Minister not be relied upon to look privately at its pricing and compare it with the deals the VHI manages to get with private hospitals. There is considerable anecdotal evidence that the VHI strikes better bargains and it would be deplorable it we found that the unfortunate taxpayer was paying even greater fees. Deputy McManus referred to consultants who are being paid to work in the public service and, when the facilities are not available, operate on the same patients in private health authorities, which is most unfortunate and such cases should be minimised.
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