Monday, June 14, 2010

Harney moves to close St Luke's Cancer Hospital

Reported by indymedia on June 13, 2010 - The only HSE success story and Harney determined to close it by the end of this Dail session.

Campaigners for St Luke's Cancer Hospital in Rathgar thought that the decision not to make it the southside Centre of Excellence in 2005 which meant closure and a move to St James Hospital had been indefinitely suspended due to the local and national opposition.

But no, Minister Harney who always knows best, has a Bill before the Dail at the moment with the innocent title Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 which will dissolve the board of St Luke's and transfer the valuable 18 acre site and the other assets to the dysfunctional HSE who might well sell the land at a bargain price to balance their books.

Anyone who cares about this great hospital needs to get onto TDs immediately especially John Gormley and Chris Andrews.

With the world cup, and thoughts of summer holidays, the Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2010 currently going through the Dail isn’t attracting much attention.

But people should pay attention, according to cancer survivor Joe Guilfoyle, because the Bill will close St Luke's Cancer Hospital, Rathgar and move services to the 'centre of excellence' at St James' Hospital. And the valuable 18 acre site on which St Luke’s stands and all other assets and equipment will be transferred to the dysfunctional HSE.

St Luke’s is one of the few success stories of our public health system. It’s a hospital that patients like me are happy to travel to. It’s unacceptable that the Minister is attempting to close St Luke’s at the end of a Dail session with this innocent sounding bill”.

Guilfoyle says the decision to close St Luke’s was flawed.

There was no patient input, and since then, the projected numbers of new cancer cases by 2020 has risen by 50% from 28,000 to 42,000. A panel of six ‘experts’ advised the Minister on which hospitals should be the ‘cancer centres of excellence.

“If you chose the right experts you get the recommendation you want. I know from information received under FOI that these ‘experts’ gave St Luke’s poor marks under the category ‘existing service.’ As a St Luke’s patient this is inexplicable.


The Campaign to Save St Luke’s, of which Guilfoyle is Chair, had assumed the Minister’s decision to close St Luke’s in 2005 had been put on the long finger, and in effect dropped, following opposition both locally and nationally.

Since the decision to close St Luke’s, millions have been spent on the latest equipment and improving facilities at St Luke's - paid for by the taxpayer and fundraising by the Friends of St Lukes.

It makes no sense to close it on financial grounds alone,” says Joe. “Our Campaign is calling for people to lobby their TDs immediately to save this national asset.”

St Luke’s is in Minister John Gormley’s Dublin South East constituency. Residents are already angry about his apparent inability to prevent a large incinerator in Ringsend. He faces an awkward choice between supporting his cabinet colleague Ms Harney and the certain loss of his seat at the next election.

The Bill had its second stage debate in the Dail on June 3rd and Minister Harney intends to have it on the statute book by the end of the current Dail session, which provisionally ends on July 8th.

6 comments:

  1. I've spent much of the last decade in and out of hospitals with a serious illness. I've gotten treatment in at least 7 Irish hospitals. The sad fact is that many of our smaller hospitals which are highly thought of by locals, are acutally "Dundalks". Centres for Excellence is the way to go.

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  2. I don't necessarily disagree with you Eoin. I believe centers of excellence have many merits. However, I would say that there is absolutely no evidence that this particular hospital is another "Dundalk", and to make that comparison is very unfair.

    Do you think closing St. Lukes will cost John Gormley votes as the hospital is in his constituency? Do you recall if he opposed the closing of the hospital when he was in opposition before Summer 2007?

    Really sorry to hear about the serious illness. I genuinely hope you have recovered fully :-)

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  3. "Do you think closing St. Lukes will cost John Gormley votes as the hospital is in his constituency?"
    Yes, but so what?

    "Do you recall if he opposed the closing of the hospital when he was in opposition before Summer 2007?"

    No idea.

    "However, I would say that there is absolutely no evidence that this particular hospital is another "Dundalk", and to make that comparison is very unfair."
    No evidence yet. Look we are either moving to Centres of Excellence and closing down small hospitals, or we are not. Can't have it both ways.

    " I genuinely hope you have recovered fully :-)"
    I am currently well, thanks.

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  4. Good to hear you are well.

    I hope your good health continues :-)

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  5. Yes Gormley does support the Campaign to save St Luke's - at least he sent his special advisor ryan Meade to say that at the speaches after a march in Dec 2007.

    He is now telling anyone who contacts him that the hospital is saved because it will be used for other health purposes - which is not the same thing as retaining it as a specialist cancer hospital and maybe expanding the services there - there is pleanty of room to do this.

    This place is an existing centre of excellence - not a small place with a dodgy reputation. Most of its supporters are patients and their families who live all over Ireland who happily travel there. St Luke's has state of the art equipment thanks to fundraing by the Friends of St Luke's

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  6. None of the greens (TDs and senators) bothered to attend the third stage debates - just trouped in to vote down the Labour amendment which would have saved st Luke's.

    Really disappointing. surely Gormley should have spoken and explained why he had changed his stance.

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