Cancer outcomes ‘have got worse’
Charity’s stark warning amid call to new Taoiseach
IRELAND’S cancer outcomes may have “stagnated or even disimproved”, it was warned yesterday.
The Irish Cancer Society called on new Taoiseach Simon Harris to ensure cancer is a political priority, as it says anyone receiving this diagnosis in Ireland today doesn’t have the best possible chance of surviving.
Speaking at the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health, charity chief Averil Power said the proportion of people getting and dying of cancer in Ireland is “significantly higher” than in other European States.
A report published by the European Commission found that in 2022 Ireland had the second highest incidence rate of cancer in the EU. In 2017, the
Taoiseach, who was then the Health Minister, launched Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy.
However, the charity claimed it has only been fully funded in two of the last seven Budgets.
When the strategy was launched, Ms Power said she was confident it would lead to significant improvements in survival rates in the country, but that’s not the case now.
She added: “The Government’s failure to properly fund the Strategy, and the impact of Covid-19 on cancer diagnosis and treatment, means we are no longer confident that will be the case.
“In fact, we are concerned that Ireland’s cancer outcomes may have
stagnated or even disimproved.” Ms Power said not only are there several unmet targets of the Strategy, but there are many areas within cancer care where Ireland is “going backward”.
The main issues include waiting times for cancer tests being “consistently exceeded”, an ongoing shortage of radiation therapists, and growing inequality between private and public patients.
There also continue to be surgical delays for cancer patients due to “understaffing and lack of protected beds and theatre space”.
The Irish Cancer Society is calling on the Government and the new Taoiseach to publish an implementation plan for the strategy with a commitment to ring-fenced multiannual funding from 2024 onwards.