A new cancer care institute at University Hospital Galway (UHG) will improve the quality of services for cancer patients from Donegal to Limerick and will also facilitate access to beds for non-cancer patients, a plan for the institute's development says.
The West of Ireland Cancer Centre (WICC) Business Plan, which has been seen by The Irish Times, states that the current delivery of cancer care in the HSE West region faces a number of challenges including restricted access to services and a lower- than-average survival rate for certain cancers.
"Cancer care in HSE West is currently delivered using a fragmented approach with capacity and infrastructure challenges. The volume and type of cancer cases treated varies considerably by hospital. Both these characteristics are the most likely cause of the survival rate for certain prominent cancer types being lower in the HSE West than that recorded nationally," it says.
The plan says that HSE West has a lower-than-average rate of five-year cancer survival for colorectal, breast and prostate cancers. With a national prostate cancer survival rate of 69.5 per cent, men in the western region with the disease have a five-year survival of only 64.4 per cent.
It also refers to recently published data indicating that women suffering from breast cancer in the west and the midlands have a 30 per cent greater chance of dying from the disease than those living in Dublin.
"Substantial variations in the use of particular treatment modalities are evident across the network. These variations are largely unexplained by patient and tumour characteristics suggesting that geographic and institutional influences on treatment may be critical," the report notes.
The plan, which has been forwarded to the National Hospitals Office for approval, outlines how a managed cancer control network, based on the 2006 National Cancer Strategy, would work. A hub and spoke model, centred on a new cancer facility in the grounds of University Hospital Galway will offer tertiary multidisciplinary support to 12 hospitals throughout the region.
It envisages that the first patients will be treated by the institute in 2010, with the facility fully operational by 2020, when an annual incidence of over 10,000 cases of cancer in the region is predicted. With capital costs of €279 million, the estimated annual running cost in 2020 is projected to be €44.3 million. The unit will have 98 beds and operating theatres dedicated to the surgical treatment of cancer, 116 inpatient beds will be available for chemotherapy and radiotherapy patients and 54 day care beds will also be provided.
Noting that there are 18,000 patients waiting for outpatient access to UHG and 2,744 people waiting for routine admission to the hospital, the report says the development of the WICC will help improve access to care for all patients. "Given that approximately 30 per cent of inpatient days are currently being used for cancer care in UHG, the development of a cancer centre . . . will also improve access to beds for non-cancer patients in the hospital. This 30 per cent transfer equates to approximately 90-100 beds and a number of outpatient clinics."
Commenting on the plan, Oliver McAnena, consultant general surgeon at UHG and regional director of cancer services, said: "The WICC will be for the care of the more complex cancer cases and the beds [ in it] will be ringfenced for cancer patients. The plan recognises the need to preserve the dignity of the cancer patient. And on top of this, it facilitates having a multidisciplinary team under one roof to deliver the best quality of cancer care."