A round-up of other health news in brief
Terminally ill people put on a waiting list
Fine Gael said yesterday reports that terminally ill patients were being put on waiting lists for hospice and palliative care were a “damning indictment of 12 years of failed Fianna Fáil health policies”.
Its health spokesman, James Reilly, said he was shocked to learn that “terminally ill patients now have to join a queue for palliative care services, including hospice services.
“Many will never be able to access these services before their limited time is up,” he said.
“Reports state that 130 patients who are in their final days will have to join a queue for hospice care, and are even having to wait for pain relief.
“It is astounding that terminally ill patients cannot even receive such basic medical care,” he said.
“The risible statement from the HSE, which claims that plans are being made to allocate spending for palliative care, is all the more derisory given that funding which was allocated for palliative care in the last few years has been spent elsewhere,” he added.
CD for lung cancer patients
A new CD has been launched for patients with lung cancer.
It is aimed at providing lung cancer patients with information about the disease and a necessary support tool to answer their questions.
The CD, which was developed by the Irish Lung Nurses Group (ILCNG), includes information on lung cancer, getting a diagnosis, stages of the disease, surgery, radiotherapy, the treatment options available and contact details for some of the patient support groups in the Republic.
It also contains video interviews with some of Ireland’s leading lung cancer experts, such as Mr Vincent Young, consultant in cardiothoracic surgery at St James’s Hospital, Dublin; Dr Barry O’Connell, consultant in respiratory medicine at St James’s Hospital; and Rita Luddy, chairwoman of the ILCNG.