‘Let cancer patients like me register for vaccination online’
A CANCER patient has urged health authorities to allow highrisk groups to register themselves through a vaccine portal.
Áine Murphy, 57, made the plea after Health Service Executive (HSE) chief executive Paul Reid said finding these vulnerable patients is a ‘sticky process’.
The Dublin woman has been receiving ongoing treatment since she received a diagnosis for metastatic breast cancer in 2017. She and her family have been cocooning at their home in Knocklyon, Dublin, to protect her since the pandemic first hit. Ms Murphy said the last year has been an ‘isolating and very, very lonely’ one for cancer patients.
She has made several inquiries about getting her vaccine. She contacted her consultants and nurses who told her they believe she has been put forward for her jab, but so far they have not been able to confirm anything.
HSE chief clinical officer Dr Colm Henry previously described finding patients to be vaccinated in Cohort 4, the very high-risk group, as ‘quite tricky’ because of the absence of a national disease registry.
The HSE initially went to hospital directors to source people in the Cohort 4 group. When this wasn’t fully successful, GPs were asked to find them. But Ms Murphy has asked why people in the Cohort 4 group can’t register themselves online.
She told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘They’re allowing other people register, so why not allow us to register.
‘If they need to verify information, they have our PPS numbers, they can confirm what medication we’re on from what we get from the chemist, because our PPS numbers are on our prescription forms, or they can follow up with the hospital.
‘We’re able to supply the details of our consultants or the oncologists that we’re attending, we’re able to supply the information about the hospital. So really, if they allowed us to register. I can tell you right now anybody with cancer would be on that platform straight away,’ she said.
It has been an isolating year for Ms Murphy, who hasn’t been able to see her 92-yearold mother, who suffers with dementia. She is concerned her mother may not remember her when she visits her again.
It has also been difficult to spend time with her grandchildren, Callum, two, and three-month-old, Ethan. Her husband Paul, 57, and children Donna, 32, and Chris, 28, have also had to be cautious with their movements for fear of infecting Áine.
In response to Ms Murphy’s plea, a HSE spokeswoman said: ‘Cohort 4 requires a
clinical judgement which precludes use of a self-registration portal. This ensures that the appropriate patients are identified.’
Cancer charities have criticised the slow rollout of vaccines to high-risk groups. The Marie Keating Foundation said as many as 70% of their advanced cancer group are still waiting for their first dose.
A spokeswoman for the Irish Cancer Society told the MoS that it believes
that there needs to be a ‘more proactive approach to communicate how the latest changes will affect cancer patients and the vaccination schedule.
‘We believe that one of the most effective ways to do this would be to establish a vaccine support line that people could use to ask questions and get up-to-date information that will reassure them.’
The HSE began vaccinating people in the Cohort 4 group in mid-March.