The greatest single need for improved cancer care in the Republic is to increase radiotherapy facilities, an international cancer conference in Dublin has been told.
Prof John Reynolds, consultant surgeon at St James's Hospital and professor of surgery at Trinity College Dublin, told the inaugural conference of the Institute for Molecular Medicine at St James's Hospital that there were currently gaps in provision of radiotherapy which could affect individual patient outcome.
Referring to media reports of a supposed manpower surplus in the health service, Prof Reynolds said there was no staff surplus in the provision of cancer services here.
In a review of the 1996 Cancer Strategy, he noted that the national budget for cancer services had increased from €8 million in 1997 to €132 million in 2003.
Much of the extra money had gone on recruiting extra cancer specialists, with the national breast cancer screening programme, Breastcheck, also benefiting. The cost of new cancer drugs continued to rise, he said.
Listing future priorities for cancer care in the State, Prof Reynolds said there was a need for more structured cancer clinics involving a multidisciplinary approach. "The single biggest move forward in recent years is the recognition of the role of the nurse in cancer care," he said.
One of the areas requiring urgent development was that of supportive care for cancer patients. Noting there was an opportunity for primary care and voluntary bodies to integrate into the system, he said that if services were to improve there had to be a central executive implementation plan.
In his address to the conference, the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said it was a cause for concern that mortality rates from cancer in the Republic remained above the EU average.
He acknowledged the deficits in manpower and radiotherapy facilities, but pointed to the recruitment of an additional 80 specialists since the launch of the 1996 Cancer Strategy.
In a reference to recent attempts at centralising cancer services, he said: "It is not understood in all parts of the country that there is a need for a multidisciplinary approach and a critical mass if cancer outcomes are to improve."
Prof Roy Spence, Pro-Chancellor of the University of Ulster and consultant surgeon at Belfast City Hospital, told the conference that five-year survival rates for cancer were similar in Northern Ireland and the Republic.
However, he noted that survival rates for lung cancer, at 15 per cent, were much better in some European states compared to all-Ireland survival rates.
Outlining development in Northern Ireland since the appointment of a cancer services commissioning group, Prof Spence said the region's main cancer centre would open at Belfast City Hospital in 2005 at a cost of £62 million. It would be a state-of-the-art facility central to a Northern Ireland cancer network.
"The principles of the network are to create standards of care and a uniformity of service across all health boards. It will address people's concerns about equal access to services and will eliminate a 'postcode lottery' in the availability of treatment."