THE Labour spokeswoman on health, Ms Liz McManus, will raise the transfer of the diagnosis of childhood leukaemia from Tallaght Hospital to Our Lady's in Crumlin in the Dail tomorrow .
Ms McManus has also called on the Minister for Health to publish the departmental briefing note on the decision, quoted in The Irish Times on Saturday, which expressed concern that in Tallaght "there is an obvious attempt to build up tertiary level haematology services to rival Crumlin Hospital".
She urged the Minister to publish all the material relating to the transfer. She also called for an external objective analysis of the diagnosis and treatment programmes in the two hospitals, and their outcomes.
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for the Children's Hospital in Leukaemia Drive (CHILD), which is campaigning for the maintenance of the unit in Tallaght, is seeking legal advice on the Minister's decision. At the moment the decision is not operational, and a committee representing the three paediatric hospitals (Crumlin, the NCH and Temple Street) is looking at ways to deal with the question of the duplication of services in this area.
Prof Hilary Hoey, the medical director of the NCH at Tallaght, stressed the importance of co-operation between the three hospitals. "In general we do this," she told The Irish Times. "We have three excellent hospitals. Staff from each hospital go to see children in other hospitals, they give cover if people are sick. We should develop that."
Asked to comment on the view of Comhairle na nOspideal, which advises the Minister of matters relating to hospital services, that there should be one children's hospital in Dublin, she said: "The faculty of paediatrics looked at this and came to the conclusion that there should be three paediatric units in the city. I think there's room for everybody.
"If you take these services out of one area what about patient care? In the Eastern Health Board area 40 per cent of the population is children. In the UK the proportion is only 20 per cent. On a personal level we have very good relationships with the other hospitals. What I would like is to see that enhanced. At the moment if a patient does not get on well in one centre you have the opportunity to get a second opinion. We do that all the time."
Referring to the question of leukaemia, she said the National Children's Hospital was an international centre of excellence for paediatric haematology.
"With leukaemia you have ongoing problems. A continuum of care is very important for children with chronic conditions like leukaemia. We are developing adolescent clinics. We're in a unique position in that we have expertise in children and expertise in adults so we are in a position to offer continuity of care."
The National Cancer Forum, which recommended to the Minister that the diagnosis and treatment planning for leukaemia be centralised in Crumlin, did so on the basis that all cancers should be treated together. One of Crumlin's specialities is the treatment of childhood cancers. Medical opinion is divided on whether leukaemia is best treated with other cancers or with other blood disorders.