Harris should listen

Dear Sir, It was sad to read in your newspaper (Sligo Champion October 30 th) that the cancer bus that transports patients from Sligo to Galway has fallen into disrepair, and is no longer fit for purpose.

The Minister for Health Simon Harris has been asked to intervene to ensure that the existing bus is upgraded, or a new purpose built vehicle - to fully cater to cancer patients’ needs - be purchased immediately to carry out the task. The fact that very ill people are being asked to travel long distances on a bus to have their life-saving treatment, and all the discomfort that is associated with this ordeal, is a sad reflection on the Ireland of today.

The fact that there is not one cancer centre of excellence north of a Galway - Dublin line ensures that patients needing treatment have to travel on a bus from the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal to Galway city on a regular basis. This may necessitate getting out of bed at approximately 5am in the morning and may not reach home again until midnight. Their are 4 cancer centres of excellence in our capital city which appears exorbitant, and not one to cater for cancer patients in the Northwest of the country.

This seems very unfair and unequal treatment of a large region of our state. There is a line in our constitution which says, that all of the children of the nation should be treated equally. Surely a compelling case can be made to the Dublin-based decision makers at the highest level, to develop a cancer centre of excellence at Sligo University Hospital as a matter of the greatest urgency.

These services being made available locally, would help in no small way to alleviate a great deal of pain and suffering for cancer patients, who have to travel long bus journeys for their life-saving treatments.

Regards, Tom Towey, Cloonacool, Co. Sligo.