Parents of children with leukaemia say they will fight a plan to centralise assessment and referral services in Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, Dublin.
CHILD (Children's Hospital in Leukaemia Drive), formed by parents whose children attend Tallaght Hospital, yesterday started a campaign to reverse the decision by the Minister for Health and Children, Mr Cowen.
Members of the group complained bitterly about the failure of Mr Cowen to meet them at a press conference attended yesterday by Government and Opposition TDs.
The planned move was announced by the Minister last week and results from a recommendation by the National Cancer Forum. According to the Minister's statement, the forum recommended that all childhood cancer cases should be referred to Crumlin "for initial diagnostic work and treatment planning".
The Minister emphasised that this did not mean that all cases would have to be treated in Crumlin.
Currently, services for children with leukaemia are provided in hospitals in Dublin, Cork and Galway. These could continue to treat children, assessed in Crumlin, "on a clearly-defined and agreed share-care basis, subject to proper supervision", the Minister said.
This is interpreted by the CHILD group as meaning that the unit in Tallaght which treats children with leukaemia will be moved to Crumlin. This interpretation also appears to be shared in Tallaght Hospital, as a number of staff were present at yesterday's press conference.
CHILD's chairwoman, Ms Elizabeth Pearson Evans, told the press conference: "We have all the facilities we could possibly need in Tallaght. We have all just spent our tax money building this fantastic unit."
Ms Lily Byrne, whose two-yearold son was diagnosed with leukaemia a year ago, commented: "My son is under the care of the two top paediatric haematologists in Ireland. Why would any parent want their children taken out from under the care of these people?"
Nurse Lorna Storey, sister in charge of the haematology unit at the hospital, said: "We all found it very traumatic moving from Harcourt Street to Tallaght. To have this threat again means more stress for these parents. It is just unbelievable . . . It's so unfair to have this threat on top of them."
Present at the meeting were the Fine Gael and Labour Party health spokespersons, Mr Alan Shatter and Ms Liz McManus, and Fianna Fail TDs Mr Ivor Callely and Mr Martin Brady.
Speakers commented on the irony of having to fight the closure of a unit just seven months after the hospital opened.
The group represents 80 parents with 40 children. Ms Pearson Evans said 30 to 35 children were diagnosed with leukaemia last year. Sixteen of these are being treated in Tallaght.