A call has been made for routine blood tests for cancer patients to be carried out at Ennis Hospital on a permanent basis.
It follows confirmation from the HSE that patients in Clare and Tipperary will no longer need to travel to the Cancer Centre at University Hospital Limerick for these services.
At this month’s meeting of the HSE’s Regional Health Forum Mid West, it was confirmed that blood monitoring for patients living in Clare and Tipperary and undergoing treatment will now take place at both Ennis and Nenagh Hospitals.
However, coordination, including the issuing of appointments, will continue to be handled directly by the University Hospital Limerick Cancer Centre.
Until recently, patients undergoing treatment had to travel to UHL for these tests, despite the service being provided locally in the past.
Ennis Fianna Fáil Councillor Antoinette Baker Bashua, who is a member of the Regional Health Forum Mid West, says it’s vital that the service is carried out locally on a permanent basis.
Meanwhile, concerns have also been raised about access to cancer trials for Clare patients.
New figures from Cancer Trials Ireland show that between 2021 and 2026 HSE Mid West and HSE North West were each allocated just over €600,000 for medical research.
That’s despite over €10.8m being distributed to services in the east of the country during the same timeframe.
Chairman of HSE Mid West’s Patient and Service User Council and Quin native, John Wall says it’s completely unfair on this region.
You can listen to the full interview here:
