Kilkenny woman Susie Long, who died of cancer last month, gave an interview shortly before her death in which she described a seven-month delay in her treatment as a "disaster".
The interview with RTÉ journalist Miriam O'Callaghan was screened last night at the launch of a campaign for a hospice in Kilkenny.
In the interview, Ms Long recounted how her treatment in the public hospital system was delayed by a seven-month waiting period for an assessment. Her cancer was well progressed by the time it was diagnosed. She said the cancer had "completely invaded my body by that time. I believe the seven months was a disaster."
She also spoke against the divisions in public and private health care, arguing that people should be seen on the basis of how sick they are, "not how much money they have".
But she said she was "confident of a comfortable death in the hospice" as "they look after people here very well".
Addressing an audience of about 200, her husband Conor Mac Liam spoke of their last days together and Ms Long's time in Our Lady's Hospice, Harold's Cross, Dublin, where she died on October 12th.
Mac Liam said Susie had gone into the hospice for respite care but her health had deteriorated suddenly. Campaign chairwoman Sonia Lanigan said Ms Long had died in a hospice in Dublin because there was no hospice in Kilkenny, "so in Susie's memory let's build one".
The campaign was seeking to raise more than €2 million to fund a 10-bed hospice in Kilkenny, so patients would no longer have to travel to Dublin.
Also addressing the meeting was RTÉ Liveline presenter Joe Duffy, on whose radio programme Ms Long had waived her anonymity in order to draw attention to the plight of others like herself, who faced death because of delays in being assessed by the public health system.
Mr Duffy said Ms Long had been told before her death that she could go home for two weeks if she wished. "But she didn't because she didn't want to be a burden at home; she needed the hospice care."
Mr Duffy said a letter written by Ms Long and published posthumously in The Irish Timeshealth supplement on October 16th last, had been one of the most magnificent pieces of writing he had ever read.
He told last night's meeting that he had been deeply humbled "to be contacted by such a courageous and articulate person as Susie Long".
"I am very glad to be associated with this fund, which is a tremendously positive and fitting tribute. I only got to know Susie in the final year of her life, but the impact she has made on my life and the lives of so many others all over the country will endure for a very long time."
Christmas cards in aid of the Susie Long Hospice Fund, designed by some of Susie's friends, were sold at the launch. They will also go on sale at €5 per pack at a number of local retail outlets from today.
A bank account has been set up for donations.
It is the Susie Long Hospice Fund, AIB, High St, Kilkenny; A/C: 34627051; Sort Code: 93-31-98