'This has gone on far, far too long' - Feighan says that cancer patients in the region need new bus

 A Sligo/Leitrim TD, welcomed the news that 80 per cent of the funding needed for a bus to bring cancer patients from Sligo to Galway was in place but said the fact it has taken this long to provide a new bus, is unacceptable. 

He said: "This has gone on far, far too long. 'The department is committing to ongoing engagement with the HSE and partners to find a solution that works for patients'; this has been going on for at least nine months. What has happened in the last nine months has been nothing but passing the book from one department to the other when there is loads of money in this country and these people deserve the best possible service in their time of need."

Deputy Frankie Feighan had called on Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill regarding the procurement of a wheelchair accessible transport for cancer patients based in the North West in the Dáil this week. 

READ MORE: Planning approved for amended electricity substation on Leitrim wind farm

Addressing the Dáil, Deputy Feighan said that the radiotherapy bus, known as the 'cancer bus', provides a daily service travelling from Sligo to Galway University Hospital for radiotherapy treatment but stated that the "current bus is not fit for purpose as there is no wheelchair access and no toilet facility. Wheelchair access goes without saying; a bus that provides services for people who are ill should surely have wheelchair access and many patients require the urgent or frequent use of a toilet because of the nature of their illness. The bus has designated stops at service stations but also the bus sometimes has no choice but to pull over on the side of the road. This is clearly a huge lack of dignity for these people who are at their most vulnerable while undergoing cancer treatment and it is an unacceptable way to treat people in this day and age."

READ MORE: Leitrim schools urged to support annual Christmas shoebox appeal

He went on to say that the radiotherapy bus "is a fantastic service and I've spoken to many people who've used the bus and they cannot speak highly enough of the service and the sense of comradery and support provided by their fellow patients while travelling to and back from Galway. However, the need for a new bus was brought up time and time again during last year's general election campaign and I've been assured by both the HSE and the minister that a new bus and wheelchair access and a toilet would be provided this year. A working group was set up locally in March of this year to advance the purchase of the bus however we're still no further along and every time I would ring various stakeholders, they'd say 'We're working on it' and in weeks or months, it's imminent but no bus is here now."

He stated that the current bus was secured back in 2011 through fundraising and is still funded by local charities.

He said: "I'd like to thank them for their dedication and hard work on this however with the current cost of living, many charities are finding it harder and hard to raise funds for vital services. Many people believe that if patients in the northwest have to travel to Galway for treatment then the HSE should be providing the bus service. That's a simple and clear statement. It's time for the HSE and whoever else is involved to provide the 100 per cent funding or match funding for this vital oncology service. Minister, I am asking you where is the funding for this new Sligo to Galway radiotherapy service and why is there such a delay in providing it?"

Mary Butler, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at the Department of Health with responsibility for Mental Health read out a response from Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. 

She stated: "The bus was originally procured using one-off funding from the HSE in 2011 following on from the essential relocation of breast cancer services from Sligo to Galway. There services were relocated has part of a wider centralisation programme for cancer services. The centralisation of services is a key of successful national cancer strategies in ensuring that expertise and resources are concentrated to provide the best possible service for patients as this is known to have a direct benefit on patient outcomes."

READ MORE: 'For some councils, nearly a fifth of their budget is tied to theses data centres' - Gilmartin

She continued that since the original bus was recently retired from service, a local bus company has been providing interim transport for patients. "The buses currently used, however, as you have quite rightly said, are not wheelchair accessible and do not have toilet facilities onboard and these are two components that are really really important."

She continued that the Department of Health was informed on December 2024 that the HSE Community Health Organisation (formerly CHO1) has already committed to providing €100,000 towards the procurement of a new bus. "The charity seeking the funding has raised €50,000 from their fundraising efforts. I believe in total that this amounts to over 80 per cent of the funding required for the bus. The Department of Health recognises the significant additional burden that travelling long distances for cancer treatment can have and I would like to reassure the deputy that the department is committed to ongoing engagement with the HSE and partners to find a solution that works for patients. 

In addition, the national cancer control programme collaborates and supports the Travel2Care initiatives administered by the Irish Cancer Society. This transport programme is available to patients attending a designated cancer centre for cancer tests or treatment. I've also been informed that the HSE have advised that a new patient transfer service also runs from Letterkenny University Hospital to Galway and commenced in August 2024. This bus is wheelchair accessible and while it does not have a toilet onboard, the service does facilitate comfort breaks along the route but I take your point that they may not always be at the appropriate time for the person who might need those supports."

Deputy Butler concluded: "I think it's really important that the remainder of the funding, however much it is, is found, the bus is up and running and providing the appropriate supports for people who are very ill."

READ MORE: Leitrim man’s testimony shows urgent need for local MS support worker

Deputy Feighan said he wanted the minister to go back to the department and "ensure that whoever is dealing with this; that they bang heads together and get this resolution as soon as possible. The patients that need this are putting up with a bus that is substandard."

He said that if there wasn't a resolution in the next few weeks, "we'll have to have a meeting with all the stake holders in Sligo or Dublin to put get this situation resolved. It's simply not good enough."

Deputy Butler said she "didn't disagree with anything you have said and the fact that we're almost there is not good enough for anyone who has to traveling today in relation to wheelchair accessibility and having a toilet onboard and from Sligo to Galway is a long spin especially when they are going for a specific treatment for their cancer journey."

She gave a commitment that she would go back to the department that morning will ask them to make contact with the "old CHO1 and see if a sensible approach happen."

She concluded: "We'd be hopeful that after the budget that money would free up."

She added that it highlights that there are "ad hoc arrangements all over the country in relation to transportation for people with cancer and who are availing of radiotherapy supports."