’Support MGH services’ – survivor

Public urged to show Minister their anger at loss of cancer services at MGH

Anton McNulty

THE PEOPLE of Mayo will have an opportunity to let the Minister for Health know of their dissatisfaction at the proposed loss of cancer services at Mayo General Hospital (MGH), when she arrives in Castlebar this week.
The seven cancer survivors who organised the rally which brought 10,000 people onto the streets of Castlebar last October, are set to meet Minister Mary Harney this Thursday and they have encouraged the public to turn up at the hospital to show solidarity with them.
Mary McGreal, one of the women who will meet with the Minister, told The Mayo News they were grateful to Minister Harney for meeting them but they also wanted her to know what the Mayo public think of the idea of losing their cancer services.
“We would encourage people who have a concern about the withdrawal of cancer services to take the stand with us. We don’t want to disturb the public and we intend to walk along the footpath around the hospital. However, we urge anyone who is free on Thursday to come along and show support for us before the meeting. It would give us more confidence if people come out in solidarity with us,” she said.
Mary said they had not got confirmation of a time and location for the meeting, but she said that once the time and location were identified, the public would be informed via the media.
“We hope to put it to her that the services in Castlebar are worth retaining and she will be able to see at first hand that the hospital is run efficiently as a satellite of Galway. All our lives were saved by the hospital and she still has the power to leave the service there,” she said.
On Monday, Mr Kevin Barry, Consultant Surgeon at MGH, released a personal statement saying it was his preference to work at MGH. He said he deeply resented the implication that he and his colleagues wished to transfer to University College Hospital Galway, and claimed this was undermining his professional position and reputation. He said he supported the concept of ‘centres of excellence’ but was confident that every patient treated in MGH stood up to scrutiny.
A statement was also issued on behalf of Mayo GPs stating that they recommended that the breast care services at MGH should be retained as a fully functional satellite unit linked to the services at UCHG.
These statements led to a renewed attack by the opposition TDs and councillors in Mayo on the county’s two Government TDs for their perceived lack of support in retaining the cancer services. On Monday afternoon, emotions ran high in Ballina when the offices of Fianna Fáil TD, Dara Calleary were picketed by cancer service campaigners, including Cllrs Michelle Mulherin and Jarlath Munnelly.
Michael Ring TD also criticised Beverley Flynn TD for ‘supporting the centre of excellence and therefore supporting the removal of the services from Mayo General Hospital’.
However, Deputy Flynn said that the core question which remained unanswered was the statement by Tony Canavan, Manager of MGH, on March 11, which stated that he and his consultant colleagues at MGH had arrived at a decision to start engaging with Professor Tom Keane in the process of transferring cancer surgery services from Mayo to Galway. She said she heard nothing from anybody to refute the statement and the decision of the clinical leadership in MGH had to be respected.